Free software has been around for years. In the old days we had ‘shareware’ which usually meant you could use the software for a while to try it out, then you had to buy it. We also had ‘nagware’ which could be used for free but nagged you to buy it. These days, freeware or ad-supported ‘adware’ is the popular choice. Here are my top ten pieces of free software, ones that I actually use (all links open in a new windows) :
1. Burnaware – quick, easy and free CD/DVD burning software. Install a blank CD/DVD, tell Burnaware what you want to burn (using icons) and it does exactly that. No fuss, no muss, no bother.
2. Irfanview – Easily the best photo software you can get. It is simple but very powerful. See my older posts on this wonderful software.
3. Cathy – Another freeware that I’ve written about, Cathy keeps track of your catalogued CDs/DVDs/drives. Scan them once and Cathy keeps track of them for you. No need for anything
to get lost.
4. Truecrypt – Not that everyone has things to hide but sometimes you want to keep some things hidden. Truecrypt locks your stuff up so no one can get at it. No one.
5. Dropbox – Dropbox really does make your life simple. Keep all of your files and folders, well 2 gigs worth anyway, at your fingertips on whatever computer you use.
6. Recuva – Recuva takes the worry out of accidental deletions. Works great with flash drives/cards but will also work on a hard drive or damaged DVD/CD.
7. Fotobounce – Downloads whole albums from Facebook or any other site quickly and easily.
8. FileZilla – When you have a website, a good FTP app is required. Nothing is better than FileZilla.
9. Calibre – I have recently gotten into ebooks. Calibre handles all of my conversions simply and quickly. PDF to epub? No problem.
10. FormatFactory – I use FF for my DVR conversions. An hour of HDTV at 5-8 gigs can be shrunk to half a gig or less using the Xvid setting. Some people use Handbrake but I prefer FF.
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