Deleting empty subdirectories seems like something Windows ought to do automatically, but for some reason that function just isn't included as part of the OS. Luckily, you don't need to download a utility to do it; instead, you can create a single line batch file that will do exactly what you're looking for:
for /f "usebackq" %%d in ("dir /ad/b/s | sort /R") do rd "%%d"
Raymond Chen, the venerable Microsoft coder, explains how this works. Basically, it uses a trick to enumerate the directories in reverse order. Since you can't delete a directory that contains data (including other directories) the only way to automate deleting directories is to start at the very bottom of the tree and work your way up.
InstallPad is a brilliant open source app for Windows that lets you automate the download and installation of entire suites of programs. InstallPad relies on "application lists," which are XML files that tell it where to download the programs and how to install them. It has a built-in GUI for building and editing an application list (or you can edit XML by hand if you like), and you can select which applications from the list to install. The really cool part is that it does all of this silently. You don't have to play "Next, Next, Next, Next, Next, Next, Finish" game with the installers, because InstallPad does it for you. It also lets you pass arguments to the installers and invoke scripts when installation is complete. It can download from HTTP and FTP sources as well as run local installers or network resources. The obvious audience here is the network administrator who frequently has to bootstrap machines with the same bunch of apps, but it also has benefits for when you're doing a reformat-and-reinstall, or setting up a virtual machine with a bunch of apps.
Over at Lifehacker, Gina Trapani has put together a few application lists for InstallPad, including a "PC Rescue Pack," "Media Pack," and a general-purpose "Lifehacker Pack." Don't miss 'em.
From the quick and dirty tools category, FastStone image tools work well and don't ask many questions. There is the Image Viewer (which is a browser, image editor, and converter), Capture (a screen capture utility that captures almost everything on screen, even flash), MaxView (a image viewer), and Photo Resizer (a batch converter, renamer, resizer). I use both the Capture application and sometimes resizer when I have a lot of pictures all at once that I want to convert or rename. They aren't by any means Adobe quality picture tools, but they work fine, and the are cheap too. You can't get much cheaper than free.
Here's a nice trick I didn't know about until today, courtesy of Lifehacker: Windows has the built-in ability to rename whole batches files at once. Just highlight all of the files and press F2 (or right-click on them and choose Rename), and type in the new name. I suspect that the reason I never figured this one out is that when you press F2, your highlighted selection goes away, but rest assured that once you type in a new name and press enter, all of your files will be renamed (with "(1)," "(2)," "(3)," etc. tacked onto the end). The functionality is pretty limited, but for, say, renaming a bunch of DSC####.jpg files to something more meaningful, like an event's date or name, can go a long way in keeping things organized. If you need more power, I recommend reading the comments over at Lifehacker, where readers recommend all manner of free and cheap apps for getting the job done.
I use ImageShack a lot to host miscellaneous images that I
need online because it's quick and registration-free. I'm sure someone will feel the need to tell me how superior Other
Image Hosting Service is, but that's not the point of this post. The point of this post is ImageBot, a super-handy
extension for Firefox that lets you batch upload images to ImageShack or similar (but not registration-free)
service Photobucket. It's pretty slick and is easy to use--just drag-and-drop
images onto it. It also keeps a searchable list of images you've uploaded in the past for quick access and has a cool
template function that makes it easy to get HTML or forum codes (or any other format you want) for a single image or a
whole bunch. ImageBot seems to have a little trouble with really big images (and error messages can be frustratingly
vague), but uploading them a few at a time seems to help.
Should we really trust a guy named Jackass JoeJoe? Well I did, and was amply rewarded. Anyone working with digital media assets for one reason or another winds up with gaggles of files. Renaming those, or changing anything en masse is a total chore. Thus, we have a slew of renaming utilities out there. I tried Rename Master, which is totally free (Windows only), and loved it.
Version 2.5 was just released and fixes a few bugs, but more importantly gets thumbnails working properly. Rename Master has a nice number of features but excels in ease of use as well. A nice balancing act. You can change metadata in MP3's or change names based on properties. Lots of nice little touches that all make sense. The source code is even available upon request. See a swanky movie of it in action here. Tell 'em Dingus McMoeMoe sent ya.
Deleting empty subdirectories seems like something Windows ought to do automatically, but for some reason that function just isn't included as part of the OS. Luckily, you don't need to download a utility to do it; instead, you can create a single line batch file that will do exactly what you're looking for:
Should we really trust a guy named Jackass JoeJoe? Well I did, and was amply rewarded. Anyone working with digital media assets for one reason or another winds up with gaggles of files. Renaming those, or changing anything en masse is a total chore. Thus, we have a slew of renaming utilities out there. I tried 
