Author Topic: Software beyond MusicBee  (Read 78838 times)

ma_t14

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 2493
If anyone else is using Cheetah Sync for a "two-stage" sync to mobile device, I just switched to BitTorrent's Sync app.  It's a little more confusing to set up, but it's super fast to configure/change/run, and based on my short experimentation so far, seems to do a better job of tracking changes.

@psychoadept Are you still using the Bittorrent sync app (now Resilio Sync)? I was going through old posts and stumbled up yours. Thinking of giving it a try.

psychoadept

  • Global Moderator
  • Sr. Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10691
Yes, I am. Working great for me, although the "selective sync" setting has caused issues.  I just turn it off.
Last Edit: October 09, 2022, 10:55:37 AM by psychoadept
MusicBee Wiki
Use & improve MusicBee's documentation!

Latest beta patch (3.5)
(Unzip and overwrite existing program files)

Phaedrus

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 117
New to MusicBee, (A refugee from Media Monkey) reading through the forums, and thought I'd weigh in. I notice I have some apps not mentioned earlier, and this way I can feel like I'm contributing.

My job is mostly Support in a Microsoft shop, so I'm stuck in Microsoft land. I'm almost exclusively Windows 10 at home, with Windows 7 at work. Compatibility with work, and needing to know Microsoft keep me out of other operating systems; I just don't have as much opportunity to play any more. I used to use free office suites at home, but found that when I had to work on things from work, it was never pretty. I gave up, and started paying for an Office subscription. It's a great deal if you have a kid in school, and a wife who needs to do stuff for work too.

Notepad++ - I just leave it running because somehow I always need it. I find a lot of open tabs with information, or text I just needed temporarily. Literally, the first thing I install when I get a new computer.

OneNote - I used to use Evernote, but OneNote works seamlessly across all my personal devices with less fuss. The best part is how well it works in the browser while I'm at work.

LastPass - Used to use KeePass, but it was a major pain to use while I was at work. LastPass with the FireFox plugin is almost perfect. I don't even know what most of my passwords even are. I use the paid version, and can't imagine life without it.

XMarks - I always hated trying to keep track of favorites. Now, I don't have to unless I'm on an unfamiliar computer, and even then, I can get to my favorites from the website.

Lightroom - Is there anything better for keeping and processing pictures from your DSLR camera?

Private Internet Access - Because it's nobody's business but my own where I go on the internet. Inexpensive, fast, and easy to use. I install it on my laptop for when I'm out and about, and have it on my Linksys router for when I'm not. It's also handy for those times I run into a YT video that isn't available in my country. Quick couple of clicks, and suddenly I can watch that video.

Photoshop Express - For the times I'm on my tablet and want to work with some pictures.

Fruity Loops - Because I also sometimes like to pretend that I am a musician. Since I don't use this as often, I appreciate the fact that it's a lifetime license.

Bamboo Paper - I often use this on my Windows 10 tablet, because sometimes you just want to be able to free-form draw to get a point across. This is the fastest way I've found to just start making marks on a blank background.

Free FileSync - For backing up data to external drives. (No one likes taking backups, but everyone loves a restore.)

Greenshot - For screen capture when I'm on a personal computer. It's free, and makes it easy to capture an entire window. There's a better app on the Work computer that I can't remember the name of, but that one is expensive, for not many more features.

AutoCad 360 - Great tool for 3d design. Once I get a 3d printer, I'm told it's possible to get from this app to a piece of plastic. I'm in the third year of a student license, and Autodesk is changing their licensing, so this may be changing in the near future. It looks like "Fusion 360" is where I'll end up.

Mp3Tag - I used to use this back in the day when I got new music. Now, I find I'm back in it to fix the damage to my tags caused from years of Media Monkey abuse. I've had the Monkey off my back for week now, and regret I didn't move sooner.

I do use other software, but this is all the stuff that gets installed when I find myself in a fresh Operating system. Anything else gets installed if I need it.
Dell Inspiron, i5, 16GB, 256GBSSD
Windows 11 Preview
MusicBee 3.5.8447, standard install on C:\
Library on External drive;
293,621 Tracks, 18,393 Albums, 4461.93GB, 850d 12:20

Topping D10 32bit 384 kHz USB DAC
O2 Headphone Amplifier
beyerdynamic DT770M 80 ohm
Crossfade M-100 Master Over-Ear

hiccup

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 7790
At clean-installing a new PC, I decided to re-evaluate what software (beyond MusicBee) was still essential to me.
After trying some alternatives here and there, I stayed with most software choices that I have been using before.
Except for one. (see below)
Here is my current list of 'essential' software. (that at least has some relevance to using MusicBee)

Windows enhancement:

AutoHotkey
Ditto
f.lux
FileLocator Pro
OpenShell
SyncBackPro
Total Commander Directory Opus


Text and images:

Album Art Downloader
FastStone Image Viewer
Instant Colour Picker (for skinning)
Notepad++
PNGGauntlet (for skinning)
ShareX


Audio:

Audacity
CUETools
dBpoweramp
foobar2000
MP3 Diags
Picard
SomethingWithABeeForAnIcon
Spek
Tag & Rename


Most of these have been mentioned in this thread before and are used by many others.

But I did stumble upon a piece of software that is a serious candidate for my list of essential software that I think hasn't been mentioned before in this thread:
QTTabBar
(http://qttabbar.wikidot.com/)
It's a great extension for Windows Explorer and makes navigation a whole lot easier and very versatile.
Everything about it seems extremely well thought-through, and the amount of options and tweaks is incredible.
It's probably a keeper and will make me ditch Total Commander.


update:
I ran into some issues with QTTabbar, and after looking at several fora for solutions, it seems that the developer isn't active, and doesn't respond to requests, bugs or suggestions. So I looked elsewhere. With great success:

Directory Opus is my new holy grail as a Windows Explorer replacement.
I've been road testing it for a week or so, and both the program itself as the support are awesome.
It's a keeper for sure.
Last Edit: March 17, 2022, 07:46:29 PM by hiccup

hiccup

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 7790
But I did stumble upon a piece of software that is a serious candidate for my list of essential software that I think hasn't been mentioned before in this thread:
QTTabBar
(http://qttabbar.wikidot.com/)
It's a great extension for Windows Explorer and makes navigation a whole lot easier and very versatile.
Everything about it seems extremely well thought-through, and the amount of options and tweaks is incredible.
Something tells me Bee-liever would probably also like it ;-)


Música

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 120
Increasingly basic, on Win 7, 10 or both:

Daily or nearly so:
MusicBee
Spotify
Microft Edge and Vivaldi browsers
Microsoft Office Professional 2007 -yes, still
OneNote

Regular or frequent:
Macrium Reflect and RealTimeSync
PaintShop Pro 2021 Ultimate
FastStone Image Viewer
PHOTOfunSTUDIO
Nitro Reader 5
Skype
Zoom

Occasional only, still essential:
Notepad ++
Minitab
Tableau
Zune
Windows Media Center
Windows Media Player
 
I also have a Fire 10 and 7 tablets with their own apps that I also use daily for Kindle, Sudoku, Washington Post access, and selected browsing

bloodfu

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 28
Love  GIMP as a free alternative to photoshop. Use it mainly to edit my paintings and drawings.