Ninite: For automatic multiple program installation

I had to re-install the operating system on my laptop recently. Leading to me wanting my entire list of frequently used programs reinstalled. This was going to be a pain. Amongst other things, I knew I needed the following programs.

Firefox

Thunderbird (Mozilla email client)

Keepass

Pidgin (Multi-protocol IM client)

Notepad++

WinSCP

PuTTy

Paint.Net

Inkscape

VLC

TrueCrypt

CutePDF (Standalone PDF printer)

Foxit PDF Reader

and more...

Installing each separately is a pain. (I've done it in the past) I remembered this post [1] on Lifehacker. Hence, I decided to give Ninite a chance.

Ninite is a bulk-installer. It automates the chore of downloading programs from their websites and then installing them. So, I went to their website and downloaded a custom installer for me. (The site gives you a list of programs available, you choose the programs you want, then the site gives you a smaller installer utility that downloads and installs the programs for you.)

Here's what I saw as it was installing:

Security paranoid folks might wonder what the implications are. There are risks - since you don't know what else this tool is installing for you. I had my anti-virus and firewall watch the application carefully and I didn't see it complain, so I guess I am good.

I will be suggesting this to people who want to make the re-install of applications painless on Windows machines. Ubuntu and other Linux distributions already do this with their package mangers and "software centers". Until this tool came along, either rolling your own OS installation disc with the other software slipstreamed into the disc or having a cloned image of a drive was the only way to have this sort of automated installation on a home machine. (Windows machines on a domain with a domain controller can have all sort of fancy features including a start up script that installs stuff from the server.)

[1] http://lifehacker.com/5388408/ninite-bulk+installs-great-free-windows-apps

Adding time servers to Windows XP

Windows XP by default allows you to configure it to automatically keep your system clock synchronized to two servers (time.windows.com and time.nist.gov). How about if you want to add another server to the list?

There are two ways to do this.

a) If you are logged in as an Administrator, you can directly type in the name of the server into the Internet Time tab (see image below, just type in the name of the server into the Server: box.) (ntppub.tamu.edu is the public facing NTP server from Texas A&M University)

b) Alternatively, you can add a couple of registry entries. [BEWARE! MODIFYING THE REGISTRY IS A RISKY BUSINESS, DO IT AT YOUR OWN RISK]

To make this happen: [1]

Open the Registry Editor (Start > Run> regedit.exe)

Navigate to to the following entry HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Current
Version\DateTime\Servers. Click on the "Servers" entry to activate it on the right side.

You should see a list of servers (time.windows.com and time.nist.gov) listed in the window to the right.

Right-click in the window the right and select New > String value.

Name the value 3 (one more than the last # present) , and press [Enter] twice to open the "Edit StringValue" dialog.

Type the address of the NTP server into the textbox named Value Data, and click OK.

Close the Registry editor.

Now if you look at the Internet Time Tab, you should see your new time servers listed there.

[1] http://www.techrepublic.com/article/tech-tip-add-internet-time-servers/5109818