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The Lounge VS ShellNewHandler

Compare The Lounge VS ShellNewHandler and see what are their differences

The Lounge

The Lounge is a web IRC client that you host on your own server.

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Open source
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Alternatives Is it good?
ShellNewHandler

SourceForge.net: ShellNewHandler details page

Rating
0 reviews
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Alternatives Is it good?
Hyperview
DCIM software reinvented. sponsored
Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, The Lounge seems to be a lot more popular than ShellNewHandler. While we know about 47 links to The Lounge, we've tracked only 2 mentions of ShellNewHandler.

social mentions
47 vs 2
Group Chat & Notifications popularity
100% vs 0%

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

The Lounge
ShellNewHandler
Website thelounge.chat sourceforge.net
Pricing
Open source
—
Listed in
Group Chat & Notifications Messaging Communication Instant Messaging +1
Cloud Storage Monitoring Tools File Sharing Website Monitoring +1

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

The Lounge 6 features
ShellNewHandler 0 features
  • Customizable
    The Lounge is highly customizable, allowing users to tweak the appearance and functionality to suit their preferences.
  • Persistent Chat
    The Lounge provides a persistent chat history that remains accessible even when users log out, making it easy to keep track and refer back to previous conversations.
  • Self-hosted Option
    Users can opt to self-host The Lounge, giving them full control over their data and enabling them to configure the server as needed.
  • User-friendly Interface
    The application features an intuitive and clean interface, making it convenient for both new and experienced users to navigate.
  • Cross-platform Compatibility
    The Lounge supports multiple platforms including web browsers, making it accessible from various devices without the need for additional software installations.
  • Active Community Support
    It has an active community and receives frequent updates, ensuring issues are promptly addressed and new features are regularly introduced.

Possible disadvantages

  • Self-hosting Complexity
    For users opting to self-host, the initial setup can be complex and may require technical expertise and familiarity with server management.
  • Performance Issues
    Some users have reported performance issues, particularly with larger chat rooms or more active communities, which can lead to lag and decreased responsiveness.
  • Limited Features in Free Plan
    The free hosting plan available from The Lounge might have limited features and capabilities compared to self-hosted or premium alternatives.
  • Moderation Tools
    The built-in moderation tools might be less comprehensive compared to other chat applications, potentially making it challenging to manage larger communities.
  • Reliance on Community Plugins
    While there is a variety of plugins available due to active community development, reliance on third-party plugins can sometimes lead to compatibility issues or lack of official support.

No features have been listed yet.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

The Lounge
ShellNewHandler

Overall verdict

  • Yes, The Lounge is generally considered to be a good choice for those looking for a reliable and modern IRC client with additional features and a user-friendly interface.

Why this product is good

  • The Lounge is an open-source, self-hosted web IRC client designed to be always online. It is suitable for users who prefer to have persistent IRC connections and provides a modern web interface that supports multiple users on a single installation. Its features include push notifications, link previews, and a responsive design, making it accessible from both desktop and mobile devices.

Recommended for

    The Lounge is recommended for tech-savvy users who want to host their own IRC client, as well as anyone interested in maintaining persistent IRC connections with a clean and customizable web interface. It's also a great option for communities looking to manage multiple users on a single platform.

Overall verdict

  • ShellNewHandler is a niche, lightweight utility hosted on SourceForge designed to give users more control over the Windows 'New' context menu (the ShellNew menu). It can be considered good for its specific narrow use case, but it is an older, minimally maintained tool that may not suit all users, especially those on modern Windows versions.

Why this product is good

  • Provides direct control over customizing the Windows right-click 'New' menu, allowing users to add or remove file type entries
  • Lightweight and free, without bundled bloatware typical of some other free utilities
  • Simple and focused in scope, making it easy to understand for its specific purpose
  • Open distribution via SourceForge allows transparency and no-cost access

Recommended for

  • Power users who want to declutter or customize the Windows New context menu
  • IT administrators managing standardized desktop environments across multiple machines
  • Users comfortable with older utility-style tools and Windows registry-related tweaks
  • Not recommended for casual users seeking modern, actively supported software with regular updates

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

The Lounge 1 video + Add
ShellNewHandler 0 videos + Add

The Lounge Review - with Zee Garcia

No ShellNewHandler videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
The Lounge
ShellNewHandler
100% 100%
Group Chat & Notifications
0% 0%
0% 0%
Website Monitoring
100% 100%
100% 100%
Messaging
0% 0%
0% 0%
Monitoring Tools
100% 100%

User comments

Share your experience with using The Lounge and ShellNewHandler. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

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Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

The Lounge 47 mentions
ShellNewHandler 2 mentions
  • Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (April 2026)
    I’ve been working on modernizing https://thelounge.chat, a self-hostable web based IRC client Modernizing in two ways: migrating to new JS tooling (webpack -> vite, Node’s built in sqlite, etc) and adopting ircv3 features like emoji... - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • OpenAI Should Build Slack
    Check out The Lounge (https://thelounge.chat) and Convos (https://convos.chat), web-based IRC clients with media previews, session persistence, and all the modern bells and whistles. - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
  • Ask HN: What are your favorite IRC clients/channels
    My favourite irc client is TheLounge: https://thelounge.chat/ Regarding the liveness... It'll likely never die, mostly due to its simplicity I think. Obligatory: https://xkcd.com/1782/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago

View more

  • I recently got libreoffice, but now the new option in right click looks like a mess. Can someone help me get rid of them please?
    Use Shell New Handler. Run the portable app and simply untick the items you don't want to appear in your new context menu. Source: about 4 years ago
  • This menu should be easy to add/remove programs to... Who is really creating Access Databases from this menu often enough to keep it here? (Not me!) Is there an easy way to edit this?
    I've always used ShellNewHandler for this. It's a really simple portable utility that allows you to remove most of the items from that menu. Tested it out on Windows 11 and it's still compatible. Source: over 5 years ago

Alternatives to The Lounge and ShellNewHandler

When comparing The Lounge and ShellNewHandler, you can also consider the following products.

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