Free software collectors thread

Firstly, this is not for shareware or cracked stuff, only freeware.


ok the aim of this thread is to post software that is useful, but free.

example... Mozilla Firefox, free and above all being far better than Internet Explorer such as virus protection, ease of use and even customization.

also with that regard there is Oprah, another free and superior web browser.


well, starting off ill give a list of programs that i use.

Audio
Jet Audio - Media player, plays all audio formats, all video formats and is resource friendly and has a neat toolbar function (docks to the bottom of the window above the task bar). i personally use it because it has some simply, yet effective effects, for instance it fades out and in when music is stopped and started, just makes it seem more smooth.
also has a shoutcast ability. for free host your own radio.
Download

Audacity
Freeware audio manipulator. great for editing audio files, simple and easy to use, but POWERFUL.
Download

Graphics

Gimp
Powerful freeware image editor. Basically photoshop, but free. Handy tool for anyone.
Download

Terragen
Very powerful terrain generator and renderer. create stunning landscapes with this very easy to use program. you are able to create custom surface maps to suite any terrain.
Download

World Machine
Very useful terrain heightmap generator. uses an easy to use tab system to create many different heightmaps for use in various programs such as Terragen.
Download

ICOfx
One that i thought i might as well add. convert any image into a .ico file that can be used to replace standard windows icons or those of applications. can extract icons from .exe, .dll etc
to replace icons on your desktop (My computer, My documents and recycle bin) right click on the desktop, go into properties, select the Desktop Tab, click on the "Customize Desktop" button at the bottom and select the ico to replace and "Change Icon".
for file types, open any folder, on the top menu find tools then folder options, File types tab, find the extention you want and then click the "Advanced" button. click the change icon button and browse.
Download

Other

IZarc
Very useful archive tool. easy to use and supports all archive types known to man. (RAR, ZIP, 7ZIP, TAR.GZ, ZOO you name it) very useful indeed.
Download

CPU-Z
Useful Hardware tool. Gives information on your hardware including CPU information (Speed BUS Cache) Motherboard (BIOS, Vendor, Model etc) and RAM clocks and speeds.

Download

Netmeter
Handy tool that records internet usage information. great for calculating averages, totals and predictions of bandwith. great for checking to see if you are heading over your limits or not, or to see if something is using up your connection.
Download





well thats it for me, i have some more, but i will post them later. its late and i cant think straight.

please, post anything you consider useful, handy, or simply interesting as i am looking forward to seeing what other interesting programs are hiding on the web

I download a lot of emulators. A lot of them are free. I'll try to post links up here soon.

Another free image editing program that I like to recommend to people who only have used the likes of MS Paint, is Paint.Net (not to be confused with M$ Paint.)

Download Paint.Net


Way much better than M$ Paint!

Also there are many tutorials available online for this program as well as a dedicated forum for Paint.Net users.

link to tutorials and forum

other tutorials available online elsewhere...



edit to add link. oops! :bnghd:

and add link to Paint.Net tutorials at the Paint.Net forums.

[edit on 6/15/2007 by Mechanic 32]

Originally posted by funny_pom
also with that regard there is Oprah, another free and superior web browser.

Nice list. But isn't that supposed to be "Opera". I wasn't aware that Oprah Winfrey had went into the computer software business.

Originally posted by Mechanic 32

Originally posted by funny_pom
also with that regard there is Oprah, another free and superior web browser.

Nice list. But isn't that supposed to be "Opera". I wasn't aware that Oprah Winfrey had went into the computer software business.

well my mistake


Desktop Sidebar

a handy desktop information bar docked to the right hand side of the desktop. can be customized in every way and displays usefull information such as news, weather, PC hardware usage and has some nice plugins that can be downloaded free.
Download

DTemp
Hard drive temperature monitor. works quietly in your taskbar, displays current hard drive temperature, shows multiple icons and readings depending on how many you have.
Download

I LOVE FREEbies!!!

Here is a nice little Video Downloader if you want to save "Youtube" and "Google" videos to your PC..

V Downloader

Now this next one is handy if you are working on multiple files, or in a hurry and do not want to wait for your photo editing program to load... It almost instantly resizes your picture and then places the "Resized" picture next to the original with a addendum to the original file name...
Really Cool

Photo Resizer

And last but not least, here is MY choice for a free firewall

Filseclab Firewall

I have a ton more, but time is short today. I will post more goodies later..

Semper

does anybody remember shareware... A little random.

This is a Text Tally program that counts the text in your "Clipboard"

Absolutely essential for debaters...

Text Tally


Semper

Teddy
A bit unorthodox here, being online, but this one is quite interesting. it is a 2d drawing application that actually transforms simple shapes into 3d mesh objects. quite fun to mess around with.
Link


Apophysis 2.02
A fractal rendering program. produces some interesting looking images based either on random generation or specific specifications.
can make for some interesting desktop backgrounds .
Download

Keep in mind theres a difference between Freeware and Free Software. Freeware is a program released for free but the source is controlled by the authors, Opera is an example freeware. Free Software is a program released for free under a free license allowing you to use, studdy, redistribute and alter the source code freely, Blender is an example of Free Software.

(i know im picky )

Heres my list of Free Software

Blender - 3Dmodeling app (on par with the comercial ones imo)
GIMP - 2D drawing/editing app
Incscape - 2D vector drawing app

Azureus - torrent app
Filezilla - FTP app
Firefox - web browser
Thunderbird - Mail client
Xchat - IRC client (For windows)
Pidgin - IM client

AbiWord - lightweight word processor
OpenOffice.org - office suite

RapidSVN - SVN client
Code::Blocks - C++ IDE
Eclipse - Java IDE (with numerous plugins for other languages)

VLC - Best media player in the world

Distro Watch - List of Free GNU/Linux and BSD Operating Systems

I haven't included GNU/Linux only apps as there easy enough to find for GNU/Linux users.

well, just to clarify, if its free then post it here

Metty
Meta tag generator. useful for web page designers.
Download

Hey can anybody tell me please what programs one can use to paint and render a livery on aircraft and then be able to rotate through 3D for still pictures, or superimposing on backgrounds etc ?

Why not come to SourceForge.net?
There are millions freeware out there.

I really like ScummVM, it's used to play old adventure games.

It supports quite a lot, from the website:
Some of the adventures ScummVM supports include Adventure Soft's Simon the Sorcerer 1 and 2; Revolution's Beneath A Steel Sky, Broken Sword 1 and Broken Sword 2; Flight of the Amazon Queen; Wyrmkeep's Inherit the Earth; Coktel Vision's Gobliiins; Westwood Studios' The Legend of Kyrandia and games based on LucasArts' SCUMM (Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion) system such as Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle, Sam and Max and more. You can find a thorough list with details on which games are supported and how well on the compatibility page. ScummVM is continually improving, so check back often.
Among the systems on which you can play those games are Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Dreamcast, PocketPC, PalmOS, AmigaOS, BeOS, OS/2, PSP, PS2, SymbianOS/EPOC and many more...

I also like jEdit, 'The Programmers Text Editor'.

[edit on 29-7-2007 by Jackster]

Some of my personal fav's:

Smart FTP - Easy to use FTP client, free for personal use.
www.smartftp.com...

Winamp - Excellent media player!
www.winamp.com...

Pamela - Free answering machine software for Skype. Also has other features.
www.pamela-systems.com...

Bitdefender Free Edition - Antivirus software. I use the paid version, but I recommend the free edition to those who want an inexpensive solution.
www.bitdefender.com...

Rainlendar - Handy desktop calendar.
www.rainlendar.net...

Google Earth - Satellite imagery browser with plenty of other features. A must have for all.
earth.google.com...

I would like to reccomend AVG Free antivirus software I have been using it for 3 years and works great.

AVG Anti-Virus Free

free avg anti spyware:
free.grisoft.com...

Free AVG anti-root kit:
free.grisoft.com...-anti-rootkit-free

spybot search and distroy:
www.safer-networking.org...

ccleaner:
www.ccleaner.com...

ad-aware 2007:
www.lavasoftusa.com...

Aus logics defragmentor:
www.download.com...

TAT (Thermal Analysis Tool: (Intell processors only)
www.techpowerup.com...

If you use Firefox for your browser, you might try adding ScribeFire
ScribeFire is a little "word processing" program originally intended for bloggers but I've been using it to take notes, paste and copy interesting items that I run across and, of course, for composing my posts.

I've been using it for several months and, frankly, I find it indispensable. I recommend it wholeheartedly. At least give it a try. I bet you that ScribeFire will become one of your most utilized tools.

[edit on 8/6/2007 by benevolent tyrant]

Here's my favorite Emulator and rom site... It's all free...


www.coolrom.com...


Enjoy!