Best Freeware

[patronus4000 0]

A lot of programs I like have already been listed, such as Terragen, Mozilla Firefox, and the GIMP, but here's a few more (as, sadly, I'm one of those people who go crazy when they see new, free programs they can download and play with before uninstalling them two weeks later!):

Inkscape (https://inkscape.org/en/)
A vector graphics program. Not as good as Macromedia Freehand or Adobe Illustrator, but it's free and it's open-source - what more do you want?

Stepmania (https://www.stepmania.com/)
An open-source game similar to Dance Dance Revolution (DDR). The platform is free to download and so are many of the songs and stepfiles, which are separate downloads. You have to play with the arrow keys though, unless you go buy those dance pads.

7-zip (http://www.7-zip.org/)
Open-source software allowing you to compress and archive files. It can pack and unpack ZIP, GZIP, BZIP2, TAR, and 7z (its native format) files, and it can unpack RAR, CAB, ISO, ARJ, LZH, CHM, Z, CPIO, RPM, DEB and NSIS files.

Opera Browser (http://www.opera.com/)
Definitely an alternative to Mozilla Firefox, it has tabs, widgets (similar to Firefox extensions), themes, and a very streamlined interface to maximize screen estate. Also, it doesn't have ads anymore, which gives all the more reason to download it and try it out!

Rainlendar (http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/)
I don't know whether I can live without this one! It's basically a calendar that allows you to add an infinite amount of events and to-do items so that you can stay on top of your busy schedule. You can download skins to customize how you want it to look, but at the moment, many skins do not work as Rainlendar has just been updated to a new version that requires a new method of skinning.

Mozilla Thunderbird (https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/)
A great alternative to Outlook, Thunderbird allows you to receive your email via POP3 and IMAP and send email using SMTP. You can also add themes and extensions, just like Firefox!

I could keep going on and on about freeware, because I download so many, but I think I should stop here. =D

don't download too many or your computer will be full of wanted apps

Ahahaha, agreed. But I always go through my computer once in a while to uninstall some applications I don't use so often just to keep my computer from filling up (though I'm far, /far/ from reaching that point), so I'm not very worried about that at the moment.
Serena

[Vue 0]

Ooh my favourite freeware?

 

AVG Free Edition - I can't rate its credibility, but it seems to be very famous.

Lavasoft Ad-Aware SE Personal - Same here too.

Mozilla Firefox - Ahhh everyone knows Mozilla Firefox! I love its skins/themes. Currently I'm using one that makes my MF look like Safari.

OpenOffice.org - Pretty good if you don't have Microsoft Office.

Spybot - Search & Destroy - I found it off a "PC User Australia" magazine DVD

SmartFTP Client - Ah many people seem to use it.

Edited April 7, 2007 by Vue (see edit history)

[HiddenKenshin 0]

PC
1stpage for website design. http://www.webdesignland.com/ Personally I like it even better than Dreamweaver and it's hard to beat the price. Too bad they don't make a version for Mac.

Anyplatform

GIMP - If it wasn't for the Kodak and Flaming Pear Plug-ins I use, this would be a great program for graphics editing. It even does somethings better than PS in my opinion.

Blender 3D - Best 3D application out there that's free. you can do professional quality works if you have the talent. Also great tool for learning the basic cheap and then transitioning to pro software like Lightwave, Maya, et al.

AAA - this is an Axis and Allies Clone written in Java. Nothing fancy, but it plays well and within the rules on any platform.

Vegastrike - Okay you really need a good computer and understand how to build the latest version from CVS, but the also check out the Privateer remake mod. Wing Commander Privateer has to be my favorite computer game of all time (okay maybe a close second to Tie Fighter Collectors CD), but Vega Strike is the same thing in a different universe and still extremely fun to play.

Mac.

Textwrangler - formerally BBedit Lite. BBedit is one of the staples of my editing diet
Cyberduck - FTP client that is opensource
Handbrake - Opensource DVD ripping software. Great when you need to get a DVD into Final Cut for editing.
Solitare XL - Because you need Solitare
Terragen - Great program that can use Xgrid.

I sometimes use Terragan to render backgrounds for graphics work, and last I run winXP, so unless they changed it recently, Terragen isn't exclusively Mac?
Terragen is a pretty nifty program though, easy to work with and great results.

[gostbox1405241546 0]

PuTTyQIP

[Grafitti 0]

I'd add ACDSee Pro 2.0 Beta to the list, though it's not entirely freeware, but will be so until September. It's very good and a big improvement over Version 9, even though they just released that recently.

[Simba49 0]

I personally like ad-aware the best!

 

 

Ad-Aware 2007 FreeSystem Requirements Product Data Sheet Product Comparison Chart Support Forums

The new 2007 edition came out...for more reviews check this out!:

 

http://download.cnet.com/archive/3000-8022_4-10695895.html

[yordan 10]

I personally like ad-aware the best!

I'm currently using Ad-Aware SE Personnal Build 1.06r1, and I'm very satisfied with it. I will give aaw2007 a try, and I will let you informed.

[diyar 0]

I agree with most of you!!

 

Winrar -

You Can Compress Files, It Saves Memory Space

Use it for File Encryption (Protect Important Documents)

Its an Excellent Free Program! Very Useful!!!

 

Thanks,

[trinifawk 0]

When I installed winrar a couple of years ago, it wasn't free. I still use it for all my zipping/unzipping functions on my windows box.

One program that I highly recommend for people who wish to extract audio from video files, is called AoA audio extractor.

I use AoA to get an mp3 file from video recording of my band performing live.

Check it out at http://www.aoamedia.com/audioextractor.htm

[arm26685 0]

In my computer have any freeware and i use every of it so don't have any programe is the best for me because i like every porgrame and use only freeware