Where to buy software

[Wassercrats]

I want to buy three popular programs. I found one or two resellers that carry them all and a few others say that they can usually special order software that's not listed, so it sounded good until I did a store ratings search at http://www.resellerratings.com. I also emailed this question Programmer's Paradise and received no response:

On the page:

http://www.programmers.com/ppi_us/Product.aspx?sku=N67 062C

you have the list price of "WinZip 11.1 Standard Single User" at $39.99 and your
price is $35.99, but on Winzip's website at:

https://shopm.winzip.com/cgi-bin/wzct1-5.cgi

the price is $29.95. So, I'd just like to confirm your price. Is "WinZip 11.1
Standard Single User" really $35.99 if I buy from you?Since then I found several online stores that charge more than WinZip's website so the price is no big deal but the lack of response it.

I have a list of popular software suppliers but before I go through every one of them I figured I'd ask what you all use. I may be missing one anyway.

[Kevin]

I know this isn't a direct answer to your question but are you sure you need WinZip enough to pay for it? I find that 7-Zip (http://www.7-zip.org/) is good enough for most uses and it is free.

Of course I am allergic to software that requires payment :P

[Wassercrats]

I've tried 7-zip. I don't remember exactly why I uninstalled it but I remember forgetting that it's only accessible through the right click menu (only when in Windows Explorer?). I like desktop icons. But mainly I need the encryption feature of Winzip because I still need a way to upload personal files for backup. Winzip will be my encryption program, UltraEdit will be my FTP program, and SnagIt will be my webpage archive program.

[Kevin]

7-Zip does have a desktop icon as well as a start menu icon. However it doesn't have encryption.

I am not sure how good the encryption in WinZip is though. I have never really looked into it but I remember there was a time when there was a program called zip-crack that broke through the encryption like it wasn't even there. That was a few years ago though so they have probably improved things a bit.

[Tom E.]

WinZip now supports up to 256-bit AES encryption.

The "About Encryption" page in the WinZip help file discourages the use of the legacy zip encryption:
You should not rely on Zip 2.0 encryption to provide strong security for your data. If you have important security requirements for your data, you should instead consider using WinZip's AES encryption, described above.

The only advantage of Zip 2.0 encryption over the more secure AES encryption is that it is supported by most Zip file utilities, including earlier versions of WinZip.

[Kevin]

OK, that sounds much better than the old stuff.

[NoahM]

Not sure of the level of encryption that it provides, but ALZip has been great for me for a while and is free for home use.
http://www.altools.net/ALTools/ALZip/Features/tabid/60/Default.aspx

[Wassercrats]

I think ALZip just uses regular Zip encryption, which isn't strongh enough for me. http://www.altools.net/Forums/tabid/86/forumid/1/tpage/1/view/topic/postid/377/Default.aspx#502

[NoahM]

I don't use the encryption so I guess it is a non-starter for you, but the rest of the software has served me well.

[McDuff]

Before buying anything like that, I would try Total Commander 7.02 (Total Commander used to be Windows Commander). TC is a great, stable shareware file manager program for all Windows including Vista. It is tested and used by millions. It has packers, unpackers, ftp and everything else what you need. www.ghisler.com/download.htm

They would like you to buy it but you can keep running it as freeware, only disadvantage then is that you have to make one mouseclick more when starting.

They have a load of plugins, either their own or third party. Because of Swiss laws, they are not allowed to include encryption tools in their software. However, they recommend alternatives for that. You can find a packer encryption plugin at http://www.totalcmd.net

For secure uploading your files to FQ, you can also use the recommended SFTP plugin (http://sftp4tc.berlios.de). Works a threat, once you figure out the one not so obvious step on installing the plugin (you have to manually point TC to the plugin, quite easy). Once installed, you find the SFTP under the network neighborhood button, ather that it is as straight forward as a normal FTP connection.

Success
McDuff

[Andilinks]

I would try Total Commander 7.02 (Total Commander used to be Windows Commander). TC is a great, stable shareware file manager program for all Windows including Vista. I wasn't aware that TC included that function, but if so I'd reccomend it way above WinZip (which I also own) because it is one of those rare programs that seems to be a never-ending fount of added functionality without added cost... I've owned it for five years, originally buying it as an ftp client and have used it every day since as a file manager. The only other program I use more often is UltraEdit, another program that keeps on giving every time I explore its features.

[Andilinks]

Before buying Snagit you might want to check out HTML2JPG (http://www.html2jpg.com/) which allows a batch capture from a list of urls. It is unfortunately not being updated any more but it will save a lot of time over Snagit if you have many web pages to capture.

[Wassercrats]

Before buying anything like that, I would try Total Commander 7.02The text editor I want is like the best GUI text editor and includes an sftp client, so I'm set there (I hope). I'm already afraid about using a non FIPS 140-2 compliant encryption program and I especially don't want to use something like Cryptonite (http://www.totalcmd.net/plugring/cryptonite.html) which hasn't been updated for over four years and is at version 1. I'm the anti-Kevin. I'm allergic to free software, even if it politely asks for money.

http://www.techsmith.com/download/devtools.aspA full featured COM Server is built into SnagIt. You can use SnagIt's COM Server to programmatically control SnagIt or to incorporate screen capture functionality into corporate or commercial Windows applications.
http://www.techsmith.com/snagit/accessories/comserver.asp
SnagIt’s COM Server allows any programming language that supports COM access to SnagIt's screen capture features.But I'm afraid to read more about it. I wonder if there's a Perl module that lets you do that. I don't need a batch capture right now anyway.

I'm going to try to order what I need from Provantage (http://www.provantage.com/).

[Wassercrats]

The text editor I want is like the best GUI text editor...I was talking about UltraEdit, but I changed my mind about it because there's no good way to have multiple instances running. If I have one instance opened then browse my folders with IE and open something else in UltraEdit, the document in the first instance of UltraEdit will be lost. And double clicking the desktop icon when an instance of UltraEdit is already opened will just open that instance.

Here's a solution someone gave me, but it's too much trouble and I don't want to have to remember it:Click with right mouse button on the UltraEdit shortcut on your desktop and choose Properties. On the command line append a space and /fni (optional parameter force new instance). Close the dialog with OK.

Note: When you update and "Desktop shortcut" option is checked as it is by default your shortcut on the desktop will be replaced and you have to add this parameter again. Either uncheck this option on every update or rename the shortcut slightly to avoid a replacement on every update.

I'm stuck with Wordpad.

[Andilinks]

...no good way to have multiple instances running.There is no need to open multiple instances because you can have an unlimited number of tabbed documents open in that same instance. If you right click something and "Open With..." UE it will open it as an additional tab and not close the docs already opened.

I'm sure you've thought of some reason why that is unacceptable, so when you need a second instance then use WordPad.

added in edit:
then there's this under Advanced > Configuration:
http://www.andistars.com/ue1.jpg

[Andilinks]

Oh, BTW; every time I go through these configurations I discover new and powerful ways to manipulate text. UE is the most amazing text editor, more than I could imagine to wish for.

[Wassercrats]

I don't have a menu that looks like that and my search for multiple instances in the help section returned this as the first result, which didn't help me find the right option:Multiple Instances (General Configuration Page)
The Multiple Instances menu item determines if UltraEdit opens another instance of UltraEdit if it is invoked when a copy is already active. If this option is enabled, a new instance is opened each time UltraEdit is invoked. If this option is not enabled, only a single instance of UltraEdit is opened, and any additional requests result in the first instance becoming active with the new file loaded in addition to any files already open.Similar to how my search for word wrap told me to start at the configuration option without telling me that option is under Advanced. But then I tried the second search result for multiple instances, which is even more similar to my search for word wrap because it directed me to the configuration option, which by now I know how to find.

Advanced > Configuration > Application Layout > Miscellaneous > Allow Multiple Instances

So it works and the documentation sucks.

[Andilinks]

I'm using Version 10, I should probably upgrade since it is the editor I use most. I find the Projects feature, macros and templates most useful.

Also global find/replace in entire directories across many file-types is very useful.

Unfortunately powerful software is usually written and documented by those who cannot communicate well with ordinary people, I find this across all types of programs. The model is this: if ordinary people can understand it, coders scorn it.

[Wassercrats]

I just can't bring myself to give them $50 now. I mainly wanted UltraEdit for the FTP client and so formatting won't get pasted in from the clipboard. It was barely worth it to begin with and they just crossed the line.

[Andilinks]

It was barely worth it to begin with and they just crossed the line.You can't please everyone, I can only repeat that I find UE the most useful text editor I've ever used.

[Wassercrats]

I'm going to choose a free sftp client, then I'll look for file comparison software that will compare the local copies of my files with the server's copies and confirm that the permissions match too. Then I still won't trust the security of the sftp client, so I have to figure out the best way to find out if someone other than me accessed my account and weather any new accounts were created, and I'll change my password after every file transfer.

Thank you, internet, for giving a bunch of small companies and individuals the opportunity to dominate the market with crappy software and make my life harder.

[Randall]

And thank you, internet, for feeding Wasser's nuclear-powered paranoia. :rolleyes:

Randall