Best Freeware

DriverMax

A free program that will check for driver updates for your computer. It also provides links to any new drivers you are in need of. It requires an online signup, but this is to set the specs of your computer for your future reference.

The program also allows you to backup your drivers to the location you choose, and can restore/install them for you. This is extremely handy if you are going to format your hard drive and reinstall Windows. I will be (hopefully) doing this with Win7 RTM later today and have already backed up my drivers so I won't have to go looking for them all again.

 

C Cleaner, does exactly what it says on the tin. Great piece of freeware.

http://www.ccleaner.com/

 

From the same people as above, some new software that tells you all about your computer.

Just trying it out.

Speccy.

http://www.piriform.com/speccy

Works fine as you can see I have a new pc, the other went on the blink.

Very handy as I would like some more memory and never know quite what it is when buying.

 

http://www.mediamonkey.com/

MediaMonkey - basically just an audio player/library, to replace Windows Mediaplayer...but the biggest reason I'm recommending it is because you can use it to load tunes to your iPod *without* having to have iTunes.

 

Ebook reader converter

http://calibre-ebook.com/ Converts some of the popular ebook formats - free program.

 

There is a free and much much lighter alternative to Adobe reader, called Foxit. Try it out. It saves a lot on resources and runs faster too.

 

would I need to download foxit exe. or foxit zip?

 

Either. The zip contains the exe in compressed form. I use Foxit and have for years. Who needs Adobe's bloatware?

 

Microsoft Security Essentials

So long as your Windows installation is legitimate it is freely available. I have been using it since the beta version and it is great. I switched from Eset's NOD32 (one of the best out there) and have not been disappointed at all.

Unlike other free anti-malware apps, SE is an active one.

MS is currently testing a new version of Security Essentials, so this good thing will be getting even better before long. And still free.

 

OpenOffice

You can do away with Microsoft Office if you use OpenOffice. You dont have to buy Word, PowerPoint and Excel. OpenOffice.org is free.

You can do away with Outlook by installing Thunderbird.

 

http://www.osalt.com
open source alternative software.

 

Word of warning- short lived Open Office

Sun, who was bought out by Oracle (unless I am mistaken.) has announced the end of free Open Office and the next version somewhere down the road will run around 70 to 79 dollars. Get it now, while it is free.

I go straight to Sun and download their package, that way I know I'm getting the REAL DEAL.

It will do almost everything Microsoft Office will do for the price of a big download or very cheap CD. It will even spit out and read compatible files for WP and Microsoft Office.

Another great program for you sound guys in churches, and I'm one of them. (Been an electronic engineer two thirds my career, the rest explosives/ammunition transportation engineer for the Defense Ammunition Center for the U.S. Army Joint Munitions Command.) But, electronics is still my first love and I ask you to pray for a position that I have been selected to be reviewed for to see if I qualify for an electronic engineer on the bomb plant itself. I really want back in electronics since we gave our local Christian FM station to a local church (couldn't make the bills and didn't have time to go stumping for money among the churches--felt like the church would do a better job since they have a full time multi-media guy who loves computers and sound.

Anyway, back to the sound editing program, try Audacity. It is free and will do almost everything if not more than Sony's 800 or so SoundForge. It will also use the SoundForge plug ins made by second parties and given out, some sold, some free. Great editing with compressing, limiting, echo, sound pitch change without time change. Not real-time, but faster than real time if the song or material (e-book, sermon, whatever) is running.

Save it and you can always undo it. I do not trust the undo on these things and always make a backup file just in case I have to start over. You can also splice sermons together or cut out parts of sermons for radio that doesn't sound so good on the air such as someone with a coughing fit or silent prayers that last 15 minutes---things like that. Just clip and delete or paste just like you do Word files. The time line runs on the bottom and the level and density is shown by a scope type read-out. (For those of you not in sound, the squigly lines you get from sound on what's called an oscilloscope.):wavey:

Thanks for the link above.

Phillip
The LEGAL bomb engineer

 

Thanks for the heads up! Downloading now.

http://download.openoffice.org/


I've been picking up freeware of late to replace stuff that won't work with microsoft stuff. Had to uninstall my web software (Front page) to get Office to work.

Started using a freeware ftp program recently as well.

 

What is the source of this info?

I tried to find out if this was true on a linux site but nobody there believes it--i.e that it will no longer be free

As one wrote, if true it would be all over their news sources.

 

I can't tell you where he saw the notice but I read it on the Kinux questions forums and it also came in one of my Tech Notices from ZDNet.

 

OpenOffice is dead, long live LibreOffice

 

I love open office! They certainly earned the right to charge, although that's sad.

Trillian- if that's still out there, I have to say I thought it was terrible. Very cumbersome and always a problem. I tried it on a couple different computers and always had an issue.

BTW, talk about flashbacks when I went to the beginning of this thread today! Wow!

 

Still free as far as I know.

I think there will be some changes coming, read that they or someone taking it over is planning big changes/improvements.

 

Trillian is still out there and it is much better now. I use it when I want to IM, but that's not too often (too many people pop up wanting to chit-chat). I tried Digsby back when we had AT&T DSL but it would lock up my DSL modem each and every time I opened it... had to reboot the modem (after closing Digsby) to get our internet connection back up.

 

free business software

http://askbobrankin.com/free-software.html?fp