Free [Legal] Software

[Inquisitor]

It has returned!

If you don't already know the drill, what you can do is just post links to free software that people can download. This includes internet browsers, word processors, art programs (like Paint, photoshop etc), chat programs, versions of IRC, etc.

NOTE: All the software must be legal. Any links to illegal software will be removed immediatly. Take the illegal chat to a private conversation.

Audio Editing
Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/)
dBpowerAMP (http://www.dbpoweramp.com/)
TagScanner (http://www.download.com/TagScanner/3000-2141_4-10354245.html?tag=lst-0-1)

Audio Encoding/Ripping
BeSweet (http://besweet.notrace.dk/)
CDex (http://cdexos.sourceforge.net/downloads.php)
dBpowerAMP (http://www.dbpoweramp.com/)
EAC (http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/eac6.html)
FreeRip (http://www.mgshareware.com/frmmain.shtml)
Graph Edit (http://www.digital-digest.com/dvd/downloads/graphedit.html)
LAME (http://mitiok.cjb.net/)

Compression
7-Zip (http://www.7-zip.org/download.html)
Ultimate Zip (http://www.ultimatezip.com/)
WinRAR (http://www.rarlab.com/download.htm)

Download Managers
FlashGet (http://www.amazesoft.com/download.htm)
GetRight (http://www.getright.com/get.html)

DVD/CD Burning
DeepBurning (http://www.deepburner.com/)
BurnAtOnce (http://www.burnatonce.com/index.htm?news)

E-Mail
Thunderbird (http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/)

Firewalls
Kerio (http://www.kerio.com/us/kpf_home.html)
Sygate Personal Firewall (http://smb.sygate.com/products/spf_standard.htm)

FTP
SmartFTP (http://www.smartftp.com/)

Gamer Server Programs
Server Query (http://serverquery.com/)
xFire (http://www.xfire.com/xf/index.php)

Graphics
InkScape (http://www.inkscape.org/)
IrfanView (http://www.irfanview.com/)
GIMP (http://www.gimp.org/)

Instant Messaging
GAIM (http://gaim.sourceforge.net/)
xFire (http://www.xfire.com/xf/index.php)

Internet browsers
FireFox (www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/)
Opera (www.opera.com)

Media Players
iTunes (http://www.apple.com/itunes/)
Foobar (http://www.foobar2000.org/)
Medial Player Classic (http://sourceforge.net/projects/guliverkli/)
RealPlayer (http://www.real.com/freeplayer/?rppr=downloadcom1)
Winamp (http://www.winamp.com/player/free.php)
Zoom Player (http://www.inmatrix.com/)

Networking
AnalogX Proxy (http://www.analogx.com/contents/download/network/proxy.htm)

Office programs
Open Office (http://www.openoffice.org/)

Operating Systems
Linux (http://www.linux.org/)

Registry cleaners
EasyCleaner (http://www.majorgeeks.com/download414.html)
Registry Mechanic (http://www.pctools.com/registry-mechanic/download/)

Utilities
Ranish Partition Manager (http://www.ranish.com/)
Shutdown Timer (http://www.daxtar.de/download/shutdown.html)

Video Encoding
GSpot (http://www.headbands.com/gspot/download.html)
VirtualDubMod (http://virtualdubmod.sourceforge.net/)
XviD (Codec) (http://www.xvid.org/)

Virus scanners and Anti-Spyware
Ad-Aware SE (http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_download.asp?fid=7423&fileidx=1)
AVG Anti-Virus (http://www.grisoft.com/doc/1)
Microsoft Anti Spyware beta (http://www.microsoft.com/athome/sec...re/default.mspx)
Spybot (http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_download.asp?fid=22262&fileidx=1)
Spyware Blaster (http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/sbupdate.html)
WinXP AntiVir PE (http://www.pcwelt.de/downloads/vire...programme/8861/)

Note: I'll also update this first post with all your links so that people don't have to go looking through the whole thread for something they want.

Gnomey edit: Links to filesharing programs and bit torrent related sites are NOT allowed under the forum guidelines. And since links to sites sharing roms and abandonware is a bit of a grey area, we're not allowing them so as to be on the safe side. So please don't post links to filesharing, bit torrent and rom/abandonware sites. Cheers :D

Ink edit: GNOMEH!!

[Suteki]

Hopefully this gets stickied like the last one, brilliant thread these ones.

Anti-Spyware & Virus Scanners

Microsoft Anti Spyware beta - http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

WinXP AntiVir PE -
http://www.pcwelt.de/downloads/virenschutz/virenprogramme/8861/



Actual program can be changed to English, personally I have found this to be the best freeware Anti-Virus scanner I have used.

Between AntiVir PE, Zone Alarm Pro (not freeware unfortunately) and Microsoft Anti-Spyware Beta I've never had a single problem with spyware or viruses

[SirAuron]

Firfox all the way Inquisitor, I was actually going to post it!
Its great. My IE kept crashing on me so I downloaded Firefox. Its a little slower than IE but it hasnt crashed and I havent gotten 1 virus or spyware yet. Top download!

[Kasplatza Red]

look around for a program called GIMP - it's an image editor much like photoshop, and it's free (or at least, that's what the DA people say :D)

[SiZZ]

Open Office (http://www.openoffice.org/)

Ctrl+V!:
OpenOffice.org 1.1 gives you everything you'd expect in office software. You can create dynamic documents, analyse data, design eye-catching presentations, produce dramatic illustrations, and open up your databases. You can publish your work in Portable Document Format (.pdf), and release your graphics in Flash (.swf) format - without needing any additional software. OpenOffice.org 1.1 is now available for more users than ever, with support for complex text layout (CTL) languages (such as Thai, Hindi, Arabic, and Hebrew) and vertical writing languages.

And it supports Microsoft Office and it converts open office to Microsoft office too.

[thebigm]

Adaware - http://www.lavasoftusa.com/
Thunderbird - http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/

[Inquisitor]

By the way, can you also just quickly explain what each link is, like Thunderbird - I don't know what that is :P

[kami]

Major Geeks (http://www.majorgeeks.com/)
A site with a whole lot of shareware/freeware stuff.

(btw, as far as I know, most of the stuff here is legal, though there are a couple of CD key changers)

[kirok]

Firfox all the way Inquisitor, I was actually going to post it!
Its great. My IE kept crashing on me so I downloaded Firefox. Its a little slower than IE but it hasnt crashed and I havent gotten 1 virus or spyware yet. Top download!

I have just downloaded it to and I am finding it awesome. It has a download manager which allows me to download when I have my firewall turned to the maxium :). For anyone else who wants a safer browser which doesn't crash often and that allows you to manage your downloads get this program now!

Edit- Oh I almost forgot for all those people running media player there is a alternative it's called real player and it's free get it here -> http://www.real.com/freeplayer/?rppr=downloadcom1

[Grechy]

http://www.dvddecrypter.com/

Great program for your DVD burner.

[ProdigalChild]

Edit- Oh I almost forgot for all those people running media player there is a alternative it's called real player and it's free get it here -> http://www.real.com/freeplayer/?rppr=downloadcom1

You have to be careful with realplayer, it contains spyware in it (i think it states as much in the terms and conditions). I think most spyware removers can remove what it adds without a fuss but just be aware. Personally i dont wanna put that on my computer so i downloaded real alternative codec and play .rm format movies in WMP (i'm not sure if it's legal so i wont post the link for it).

[Loaded_Toaster]

Firewall:

Kerio Personal Firewall (www.kerio.com/us/kpf_home.html)

Anti-Virus:

AVG Free Anti-Virus (www.grisoft.com)

Music Player:

iTunes (http://www.apple.com/itunes)

Other Stuff:

SpyWareBlaster (http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/sbupdate.html)

EasyCleaner - Registry Cleaner (http://www.majorgeeks.com/download414.html)

[oVerCaffeinated]

Audio Player:
foobar2000 (http://www.foobar2000.org/)

Video Player:
Zoom Player (http://www.inmatrix.com/)
Media Player Classic (http://sourceforge.net/projects/guliverkli/)

Bit Torrent Client:
Removed by mod

Filesharing:
Removed by mod

Audio Encoding/Ripping:
dBpowerAMP (http://www.dbpoweramp.com/)
BeSweet (http://besweet.notrace.dk/)
LAME (Command Line) (http://mitiok.cjb.net/)

Audio Editing:
Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/)

Video Encoding:
VirtualDubMod (http://virtualdubmod.sourceforge.net/)
XviD (Codec) (http://www.xvid.org/)

FTP:
SmartFTP (http://www.smartftp.com/)

Instant Messaging:
GAIM (http://gaim.sourceforge.net/)

[DekarTyphon]

I was about to say Audacity, but it looks like I was beaten to the punch. I guess I'll just say how it's an awesome program that not only mixes up songs, but fixes glitches and the like with them. I use it all the time now.

[oVerCaffeinated]

DVD/CD Burning:
DeepBurner (http://www.deepburner.com/)
Burnatonce (http://www.burnatonce.com/)

Graphics:
Inkscape (http://www.inkscape.org/)
The GIMP (http://www.gimp.org/)

Compression:
Ultimate Zip (http://www.ultimatezip.com/)

Utilities:
Ranish Partition Manager (http://www.ranish.com/)

[SiZZ]

Here's a few...

Far enough.

Operating systems:
Linux (http://www.linux.org/)

firewalls:
Sygate's Personal Firewall (http://smb.sygate.com/products/spf_standard.htm)

It's the best one out there.

[oVerCaffeinated]

It's the best one out there.

Indeed it is, until it doesn't work. Everyone I know that has used Sygate has had it stuff up about 2 months later, including me. Weird.

[rampaging_geek]

Instant Messenger
Xfire (www.xfire.com) (Also a Game Server thingy too, I guess)
Game Server Programs
Server Query (http://serverquery.com/)

[Suteki]

Indeed it is, until it doesn't work. Everyone I know that has used Sygate has had it stuff up about 2 months later, including me. Weird.

First I have heard of that. I was using Sygate previously before I got my computer back and everything was wiped out and I never had any problems with it except for when the "new" version came out and it simply refused to run. I couldnt find the older version of sygate and again something about the new version just wouldnt install so I moved onto Zone Alarm.

Maybe it has something to do with the latest release?

[Loaded_Toaster]

Indeed it is, until it doesn't work. Everyone I know that has used Sygate has had it stuff up about 2 months later, including me. Weird.

The same thing happened to me, twas annoying cos I liked Sygate. Kerio is almost better though I think, it does the job atleast :thumbsup:

[Gnomey_g]

I'm not going to pretend that I'm an expert on what is legal and what's not concerning file sharing programs, but since the community guidelines says the following and I'm just going to remove any links to file sharing programs in this thread for now and consult adzy on the matter. I'll post back when I get an answer, so please don't post any more links to filesharing programs until then. Cheers.

3) Discussions that encourage, promote or provide information about illegal or criminal activities (including pornography, explosives, weapons, drugs, programming viruses, computer hacking and copyright infringement)

4) Posting of addresses for Web sites that contain content that is banned from our Community area, by the Guidelines

[Xamerkapsy]

Isn't BitTorrent a file sharing program though?

[cd2]

Isn't BitTorrent a file sharing program though?

Yes it is... It wasn't created for what it is used for now (that is the transfer of pirate software, Music and movies) but isn't that like most things with the net.

[Xamerkapsy]

Yes it is... It wasn't created for what it is used for now (that is the transfer of pirate software, Music and movies) but isn't that like most things with the net.

So why is it still being linked to then?

Ooh, it has gotten people into trouble before aswell:

December 15, 2004 - 07:34 EST

Police in Finland have raided the operations of a popular BitTorrent file download site, seizing equipment and arresting four people who ran the site. Around 30 volunteers who helped moderate the site were also arrested.


Police say the site had 10,000 users, all Finnish, who downloaded illegally-copied content worth millions of euros. The site featured 6000 torrents, including film, videos, music and games.

[cd2]

So why is it still being linked to then?

Ooh, it has gotten people into trouble before aswell:

I don't know I'm not a Mod...

I think some people in the states got busted with it as well... Then theres this closer to home. Click here For BitTorrent case to test FTA laws (http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,12566052%5e16123%5e%5enbv%5e,00.html)

[Suteki]

I was surprised to see BitTorrent clients mentioned in this thread also

[Gnomey_g]

I just got a reply from adzy, links to filesharing programs and bit torrents (Which I know virtually nothing about) are not allowed to be posted on the forums, so please keep that in mind for future reference.

[oVerCaffeinated]

WOW this truely sucks. You can actually use file sharing programs to trade legal files. It's not the program that is illegal, it's what you do with it that is.

[cd2]

WOW this truely sucks. You can actually use file sharing programs to trade legal files. It's not the program that is illegal, it's what you do with it that is.

Its the price that is paid for other users using file sharing products to trade copyrighted material and the crack down on these fourms...

[Gnomey_g]

WOW this truely sucks. You can actually use file sharing programs to trade legal files.
Yeah, but who actually does? :P

It's not the program that is illegal, it's what you do with it that is.
I the words of adzy:

I hate to sound like a destroyer of fun here, but the first ISP in Australia has been raided for user logs for music filesharing. Just so you know it was swiftel. As you probably know the owner of Kazza is currently in court as the RIA first test case in Australia. It is basically to work out if the person who provides the ability to fileshare (as in the this case the software). It can mean two possible outcomes for people.

1) Kazaa wins the case, the software it self isn't illegal, then the RIA goes after individual users (ie the logs from the swiftel raid).

2) Kazaa looses, the software is declared illegal, then the RIA goes after every ISP in Australia that allows their users to download through filesharing programs.

No matter which way this case goes, it means the beginning of large scale legal action in this country as far as filesharing goes.

In that sense we have to be very careful as a content provider.

Besides, I'm sure that not being allowed to post links to filesharing programs won't hamper your forumly experience too much :P

[Vicious]

Yeah, but who actually does? :P

Eh? Me, for one! Anarchy Online was distributed online legally through bittorent. It helps save site bandwidth in the end. I don't see why the software would be illegal if it is incapable of downloading anything on it's own. Hell, it doesn't even have it's own search function!

EDIT: HAH! Checkmate I win! It's REQUIRED to download the LEGALLY FREE copy of Anarchy Online...

Anarchy is FREE (http://www.anarchyonline.com/free/ad_campaigns/freecampaign)

Read it and weep, then let us talk of torrent clients now so users have better speeds downloading their game legally ^_^

[Gnomey_g]

Notice the ':P' in my post? Of course you can use file sharing programs to trade legal files, I was merely pointing out that the majority of files shared are illegal.
I'm currently awaiting an answer about Bit Torrent Clients, I'll post back when I get one. And hey, it's err...my first day here >_>

EDIT: The final word from adzy is no, links to Bit Torrent Clients are not to be posted either. Whilst it can have legal applications, it's more a case of us believing that it's better to be safe than sorry. Next isn't willing to risk its proverbial ass for the sake of a few users being able to post links to Bit Torrent related websites. If you wish to do this, please take it to another forum, or do it out of the public domain. No amount of arguing will change this decision, so please just accept it and move on.

Cheers

[Vicious]

Notice the ':P' in my post? Of course you can use file sharing programs to trade legal files, I was merely pointing out that the majority of files shared are illegal.
I'm currently awaiting an answer about Bit Torrent Clients, I'll post back when I get one. And hey, it's err...my first day here >_>

.......Your first day here? You must be one hell of a spammer Gnomey ^_^

[Vicious]

Notice the ':P' in my post? Of course you can use file sharing programs to trade legal files, I was merely pointing out that the majority of files shared are illegal.
I'm currently awaiting an answer about Bit Torrent Clients, I'll post back when I get one. And hey, it's err...my first day here >_>

EDIT: The final word from adzy is no, links to Bit Torrent Clients are not to be posted either. Whilst it can have legal applications, it's more a case of us believing that it's better to be safe than sorry. Next isn't willing to risk its proverbial ass for the sake of a few users being able to post links to Bit Torrent related websites. If you wish to do this, please take it to another forum, or do it out of the public domain. No amount of arguing will change this decision, so please just accept it and move on.

Cheers

I'm willing to call BS and take it up with adzy if I have to. Obviously if this is true, I can't link to that Anarchy Online article since IT also links to the official bittorent page which in itself is a client, no?

So if I wanted to kick up an article about Anarchy Online being free, and someone requests help using bittorrent to download it I can't recommend "Use this and this client to change the speed you upload at".

As I said, I will take this up with adzy if I have to, since I know a lot of sites use it to help conserve bandwidth. Doesn't Rage3dtweaker also use bittorrent for downloads?

If we do post links to clients we are still abiding forum rules from which we agreed. This is simply to not link to copyright infringing material, and bittorrent is not a form of copyright infringement. If someone searches for a torrent to commit such an act than it is not from the forum now is it?

[Xamerkapsy]

One question Vicious, was Anarchy Online distributed before or after the raiding of Swiftel's offices, and is it being promoted for use by everyone worldwide, or just Americans?

That could be the problem you see.

Also, it offers alternative links on the website dude, BitTorrent is not a requirement. The part that says BitTorrent is required is a footnote in reference to the "Download with BitTorrent" button.

[Vicious]

One question Vicious, was Anarchy Online distributed before or after the raiding of Swiftel's offices, and is it being promoted for use by everyone worldwide, or just Americans?

That could be the problem you see.

Eh? I believe it's worldwide, considering it was listed before the old forums went bye bye. It has multiple country select and I'm sure some of the older users took advantage of it.



Terms and conditions

Purchase costs: NO PURCHASE COST

Regular subscription fees will start from 15/1 - 2006.

The offer is only valid if you sign up a new Anarchy Online account prior to January 15th 2006. Should Funcom deem that a too high-increase in server load or other unforeseen events will lessen the experience for existing players the offer will be terminated at our discretion. The free version does not include access to any of the three expansion packs.

No charges will be made before 15/1 2006 unless you decide to enter your credit card information and / or start subscribing to any of the Anarchy Online expansion packs. If you have entered your credit card details, the free trial is considered a purchase unless you cancel before the free period is over. If you decide to continue subscribing you will be billed in accordance with the recurring plan you select in the registration, and the trial turns into a permanent account.

You can easily cancel the account right here at register.funcom.com.

* VAT of 15% will be added for EU customers.


As you can see, no country restriction so this is not just an "American" deal. If it was I don't think it would make a very valid arguement anymore, now would it?

I can make this very simple, as long as you don't download anything illegal why should you care if the Police kick down your door and surround you in the middle of CS? You can also bitch and complain when they inspect your PC and all they can find is heaps of pr0n and ask them if they're happy ^_^

If they do find illegal stuff it's your fault only that you are now in jail, no one else to blame really...

EDIT: I just took a look at the mirrors and found something amusing...
Ausgamers (http://www.ausgamers.com/files/details/html/14886)

They are still supporting bittorrent...although they have the other available if you really are against it....

[Xamerkapsy]

I don't think it makes a valid argument now that we know it can be obtained without the use of BitTorrent.

There are so many examples of tools that mankind has at one point created but has now outlawed or restricted the use of because more harm was being done than good with these tools.

Filesharing programs may just be the next on that list.

[Gnomey_g]

Vicious, I urge you to take note of this specific section of the User Guidelines, which in posting on Hyperactive you have agreed to:

These guidelines are a general overview and will not cover every situation. I wish to point out just because you think you have a loophole in these rules; there is no reason to exploit it, as it will not be used as excuse to get you out of being banned.

Whilst Bit Torrent clients have legal applications, I dare say that more often than not they're used to download copyrighted material and as such Next needs to make sure that legal action can't be taken against it.

And while I'm at it:

If you feel the need to question moderators decisions openly on the board please be aware that your post will be deleted without warning, and can result in your account being suspended.

If you wish to take this any further, keep it to Private Messages, and let's try to get this thread back on topic. Or you could handle this decision in a mature manner and accept it, I'm sure not being allowed to link to Bit Torrents/Clients won't hamper your forum experience too greatly. Any further posts in this thread on the matter will be deleted.

[Vicious]

Alrighty then, PM's it is...until then let me flare up another issue.

Currently xFire is being sued by Yahoo for using one of their patented technologies. Does this mean it should be removed? You know...since some P2P is not being discussed since it is going to court I wonder how you feel about this one...

*sits back and enjoys the show*

[DekarTyphon]

I can't see xFire getting removed, it hasn't been made illegal yet, has it?

[rampaging_geek]

No. Yahoo are just greedy and are just trying to take Xfire out of the market without any real evidence that Xfire actually did do any of the stuff they're getting sued for. Xfire even offered Yahoo to look at the program's code and everything, so I think it's safe to assume they're innocent.

[Vicious]

I can't see xFire getting removed, it hasn't been made illegal yet, has it?

Neither has Kazaa or Bittorrent...

Although I have to admit it would be funny if xFire did get taken down, but it is going to court more than likely....

[Xamerkapsy]

Vicious, Microsoft have been sued by people, maybe we should ban all MS stuff from the website too!

Not quite.

People have been arrested in connection with BitTorrent use.

Has anyone been arrested in connection with Xfire use?

[We Never Like To Run]

IrfanView is a great little image program. I use it if I want to quickly resize, crop, view etc etc any images. There's plenty of plugins (For playing mp3s, quicktime files and whatnot)

http://www.irfanview.com/

FreeRIP is an nice audio ripping program. I haven't had any problems with it so far. It rips up to 320.

http://www.mgshareware.com/frmmain.shtml

[Nay_the_large]

Does anyone know of any free dvd audio ripping programs?

[oVerCaffeinated]

GraphEdit (http://www.digital-digest.com/dvd/downloads/graphedit.html) can rip audio straight from a DVD and convert it to whatever you want in one step. It's kinda technical, but give it a try.

[kami]

Anyone happen to know of a program for lowering the bitrate on MP3's?

[oVerCaffeinated]

dBpowerAMP (http://www.dbpoweramp.com/)

Be warned, transcoding (re-encoding your file to a lower bitrate) will make it sound like absolute crap, but if you're doing this to save space on your mp3 player then I understand :-P

[Loaded_Toaster]

dBpowerAMP (http://www.dbpoweramp.com/)

Be warned, transcoding (re-encoding your file to a lower bitrate) will make it sound like absolute crap, but if you're doing this to save space on your mp3 player then I understand :-P

128kbps sounds pretty good to me, anything higher than that isn't needed I don't think...and I play my music through good speakers too, not just shitty little PC speakers :-P

[kami]

dBpowerAMP (http://www.dbpoweramp.com/)

Be warned, transcoding (re-encoding your file to a lower bitrate) will make it sound like absolute crap, but if you're doing this to save space on your mp3 player then I understand :-P

Ah, thanks for that.

It's also because I need to reduce the size of a few mp3s that I want to use as ringtones so they won't take up so much space. Now I just have to somehow get my mobile to connect with my computer.

[Vicious]

Vicious, Microsoft have been sued by people, maybe we should ban all MS stuff from the website too!

Not quite.

People have been arrested in connection with BitTorrent use.

Has anyone been arrested in connection with Xfire use?

I thought we were told to drop it? *rolls eyes*

MS have been sued do to "monoloply". Not patent/copyright infringement overall. Taking this into consideration a patent is also a form of "copyright" thus xfire may fit under the board rules. It's just a way of using an analogy to express my opinion and shouldn't be taken to seriously.

Whether people are arrested is not the question. The question I was raising was more or less why this ruling was made. It seems it's depending more or less on this Kazaa case for a legal precedent. If Kazaa wins then there may be hope for change. If not Bittorrent will no longer be spoken of.

As for a software suggestion, konfabulator (http://www.konfabulator.com/). You can add these things called "Widgets". They have all these neat little things you can play with, even stuff like a tetris knock-off on your desktop when you have to think what you should play (note the irony, yet it happens all to often).

[Newton]

Soldat. Great. Game. Free. Shooter. I. Like. Full. Stops.

[oVerCaffeinated]

128kbps sounds pretty good to me, anything higher than that isn't needed I don't think...

Well everyones ears are different, but I reckon yours are screwed :razz: With my stereo setup I can tell the difference all the way up to 256kbps. You seriously can't hear the tinny effect on the drum symbols at 128?

[LeadHead]

Too true oVerCaffeinated, 128kbps sounds crappy to my ears. Speaking of high quality mp3s, Exact Audio Copy (http://www.exactaudiocopy.org/) is a fantastic CD ripper. It's basically the most accurate and high quality CD ripper around, and it has inbuilt support for LAME mp3 encoding.

There is a great guide to getting EAC/LAME setup properly over here. (http://users.pandora.be/satcp/cd2mp3-en.htm)

[kami]

Well everyones ears are different, but I reckon yours are screwed :razz: With my stereo setup I can tell the difference all the way up to 256kbps. You seriously can't hear the tinny effect on the drum symbols at 128?
.ecnereffid a fo hcum oot tceted yllear t'nac ,epoN

[rampaging_geek]

Real-Time High Dynamic Range Image-Based Lighting (http://www.daionet.gr.jp/%7Emasa/rthdribl/index.html)

It's a little old now, but it still looks damn cool. I never thought looking at rotating spheres would be eyegasmic.

[DekarTyphon]

MS have been sued do to "monoloply".

I have a jalopy too!

[Stunner]

Anyone know any good free art programs?

[Loaded_Toaster]

Well everyones ears are different, but I reckon yours are screwed :razz: With my stereo setup I can tell the difference all the way up to 256kbps. You seriously can't hear the tinny effect on the drum symbols at 128?

My music sounds fine at 128, iv got a few songs on here that are 192 and I can't tell the difference...plus it saves space on my HDD :wink: (not that i need it really :? )

[SiZZ]

Anyone know any good free art programs?


Gimp anyone?

[Vindik8or]

Gimp anyone?
Read the previous posts and not look like a barely hominid, milk-fed gimp?

[Loach]

My music sounds fine at 128, iv got a few songs on here that are 192 and I can't tell the difference...plus it saves space on my HDD :wink: (not that i need it really :? )

Nah I think I can tell the difference. I thought I couldn't tell anything above 192, but now I'm pissed off that I didn't rip all my CDs at a higher bitrate before leaving them on the other side of the world.

[normthesamurai]

Hey Anyone know where I can get a free midi to sheet program?

[Loach]

Anyone know of a program that can record 'macros' for Windows?

I found a couple on Download.com but both of them would replay the macro at the same speed as it was recorded. What were the creators thinking there?

[oVerCaffeinated]

Try Tucows.com (http://www.tucows.com) and search "windows macro". Comes up with a lot of programs most of them being Shareware.

[Inquisitor]

Yo, just thought I'd bring back this thread because there's always new software coming out, and I'm hoping you guys have some new stuff to post. :P

[oVerCaffeinated]

Networking
AnalogX Proxy (http://www.analogx.com/contents/download/network/proxy.htm)

Audio Encoding/Ripping
CDex (http://cdexos.sourceforge.net/downloads.php)
EAC (http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/eac6.html)

Video Encoding
GSpot (http://www.headbands.com/gspot/download.html)

Utilities
Shutdown Timer (http://www.daxtar.de/download/shutdown.html)

Audio Editing
TagScanner (http://www.download.com/TagScanner/3000-2141_4-10354245.html?tag=lst-0-1)

Compression
7zip (http://www.7-zip.org/download.html)

[Bob the Destroyer]

I need to do another format on my compy and I'll need something like a partitioning program to help me keep my mp3s, porn and documents. ANY HELP?

[GT_Racer]

I need to do another format on my compy and I'll need something like a partitioning program to help me keep my mp3s, porn and documents. ANY HELP?

Can't you just burn it all to CD :razz:

If you partition your drive don't you lose all the info anyway?

You normally have to partition it before you put any info on.

I could be wrong though.

I have heard of a program called partition magic, not sure if it's free or not but might be worth a look.

[Bob the Destroyer]

Basically 10Gigs is a bit much to burn to CD's. I want to create a 15gig partition, format the larger one and reinstall Windows etc back on there and then move the other stuff back. Can that even be done?

[oVerCaffeinated]

Is your drive formatted as NTFS or FAT? You can create FAT partitions without deleting files but with NTFS you can't. Well, I think that's how it goes.

[InfernalEternal]

Anyone know a program that converts MP3 to WMA?

[DekarTyphon]

Power MP3/WMA Converter 2005 (http://www.download.com/Power-MP3-WMA-Converter-2005/3000-2140_4-10397823.html)

Only a trial version though.

[oVerCaffeinated]

Anyone know a program that converts MP3 to WMA?

http://www.dbpoweramp.com/

[Inquisitor]

Damn I need this thread stickied.

[Loach]

OK I'm after two programs.

1. An mp3 splitter. All the ones I found on download.com and tucows are shareware. I've got a one hour mp3 file I want to put on my mp3 player, but that's going to result in massive battery use since the HD will be in constant use. Any ideas for a free one? If not I'll give up and get a shareware one, but it's such a simple program you'd think there'd be a free one.

2. How would you convert a mod/it/s3m file to an mp3? Is there some program that can listen to the sound going through the soundcard and record it or something because I couldn't find any converters on the above mentioned sites?

Edit - skip that second one, dBpowerAMP seems to be the key! :D

[kami]

You can always try Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/)

It allows you to select bits and save them as a new file.

[sickbunny]

For dvd's

www.dvdshrink.org

It'll compress and backup the size of a say a 7gb dvd down to 4.3gb so you can burn them onto a standard dvdr disc.
Download the 3.2 version or later.

BRILLIANT PROGRAM COMPLETELY FREE.

[banjoeskimo]

I'm surprised nobody else has mentioned this? Does anyone else here use Skype (http://www.skype.com/products/skype/windows/?autoload=true)?

It's a messaging/voice chat program that works remarkably well with broadband connections. I've saved literally thousands of dollars getting all my long distance friends to get a headset so we can use this instead. Basically it's just a glorified version of MSN voice chat, except it's not bloated like MSN, the voice quality is very, very high and most of the time it actually works.

And needless to say, if you have friends who live overseas or you're in a long-distance relationship, this program is a godsend.

[oVerCaffeinated]

1. An mp3 splitter. All the ones I found on download.com and tucows are shareware. I've got a one hour mp3 file I want to put on my mp3 player, but that's going to result in massive battery use since the HD will be in constant use. Any ideas for a free one? If not I'll give up and get a shareware one, but it's such a simple program you'd think there'd be a free one.
mp3DirectCut. (http://www.mpesch3.de/) Doesn't decompress and recompress, direct cutting.

I'm surprised nobody else has mentioned this? Does anyone else here use Skype (http://www.skype.com/products/skype/windows/?autoload=true)?

Kami made a thread about it here:
http://forums.hyperactive.com.au/showthread.php?t=1608

[kami]

I'm surprised nobody else has mentioned this? Does anyone else here use Skype (http://www.skype.com/products/skype/windows/?autoload=true)?

It's a messaging/voice chat program that works remarkably well with broadband connections. I've saved literally thousands of dollars getting all my long distance friends to get a headset so we can use this instead. Basically it's just a glorified version of MSN voice chat, except it's not bloated like MSN, the voice quality is very, very high and most of the time it actually works.

And needless to say, if you have friends who live overseas or you're in a long-distance relationship, this program is a godsend.
And it lets you do conference calls. I wonder what the maximum is though.

*does a search*

hmm, it seems a maximum of 4.

[fishfishmonkeyhat]

http://www.viksoe.dk/code/gmail.htm

Turns your GMail storage into a virtual drive on your computer. I made a thread about it here (http://forums.hyperactive.com.au/showthread.php?p=64574#post64574).

[JazzJazz]

WinXP AntiVir PE -
http://www.pcwelt.de/downloads/virenschutz/virenprogramme/8861/



Actual program can be changed to English, personally I have found this to be the best freeware Anti-Virus scanner I have used.

Little help... how exactly do you change the language to English?

[Squato]

Does anyone know a good image converter for Windows? I am tring to set something up as a music video.

[mao]

I saw that RealPlayer is in the list at the start, just thought i'd say that it's low level spyware if someone hasn't already mentioned that. So maybe think twice about downloading it.

[Ambrose Burnside]

Little help... how exactly do you change the language to English?

I'm not sure why that link was given, when the official (http://www.free-av.com/) site has an English version available.

I agree with Suteki though, AntiVir is the best anti-virus program. Every comparison I've read rates it higher than any other free anti-virus program.

[Loach]

I saw that RealPlayer is in the list at the start, just thought i'd say that it's low level spyware if someone hasn't already mentioned that. So maybe think twice about downloading it.

I had so much trouble uninstalling that damn message centre thing that it installs after you run it (someone else installed it on my pc). I don't think it's spyware though, just annoyware.

[demeanan]

Can anyone recommend a program that will burn AVI's onto a DVD that can be watched in a DVD player?

[blackholearmy]

www.macromedia.com -

Almost all of Macromedia's products are free for 30 days. Of course, after that, they cost hundreds, even thousands of dollars, but free 30 day Flash/Dreamweaver is pretty good.

[Inquisitor]

Nero SmartStart (or is it StartSmart?) will do that demeanan. It comes with the Nero 7 package and you can download the demo of it off their official site I believe. Even though it's the demo it will still do it.

[etnlIcarus]

Now I could copy the text from this page and take credit for it but that would hardly be fair so here it is: Ramsinks (http://www.ramsinks.com/software.asp)
Probably the most extensive list of legal freeware I've seen and it's still growing (and hopefully my suggestions will be added).

[tHe LiNk]

New version of foobar is out (0.9): http://www.foobar2000.org/

Looks pretty good too, now with tabbed playlists :D

[Vicious]

For ripping and encoding I would like to make a couple suggestions:
Gordian Knot
AutoGK
PocketDIVXEncoder (it doesn't use DivX funny enough, although supports Xvid)

and a question, are DVD ripping programs banned in Aus? If they aren't I also have suggestions there.

Also the best music tagging software I can find is "The Godfather", excellent stuff.

[etnlIcarus]

It's probably been posted before but meh:

http://www.gunzonline.com/

I could not suck more at this game but I don't care, I want to buy stuff!

[/backslash]

DVD Shrink (http://www.dvdshrink.org/what.html)

Good for making backups and taking out useless stuff (like that stupid Hungarian audio option) so you can fit dual layered onto normal DVDs. Not only that but you can reduce the quality to a % ratio of your choice whilst maintaining a sharp and clear image.

An absolute must-have

[Inquisitor]

I'm thinking I should update this sometime. >_>

[etnlIcarus]

For those of you like myself who loath Adobe Acrobat or whatever it's called now, I recently discovered Foxit (http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php) reader. <3

Also, the Ramsinks list url changed slightly: http://www.ramsinks.com/software/

[Maxi]

For those of you like myself who loath Adobe Acrobat or whatever it's called now, I recently discovered Foxit (http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php) reader. <3

Also, the Ramsinks list url changed slightly: http://www.ramsinks.com/software/
What's wrong with Adobe Reader?

[etnlIcarus]

It's heavy, it's disruptive and it crashes some people's PCs.

[OldNewell]

avast! AntiVirus. It owns the key to my heart. Little Fighters 2. It burrowed the key to my heart off avast! and had it coppied. Google them. Now.

[IntErlOpr]

Don't know if this has been mentioned elsewhere on here but if you like the look of Portal then check this out

Narbacular Drop (http://www.nuclearmonkeysoftware.com/narbaculardrop.html)

It's free and apparently by the same guys that created the mod, relatively small dl (26.5 meg odd) so check it out!

[banjoeskimo]

Wow, big week for Microsoft. Final version of Windows Media Player 11 is out (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/11/default.aspx), 'tis pretty damn funky.

[etnlIcarus]

I hate WMP. I cannot understand, for the life of me, what MS were smoking when they designed it's interface. I still, to this day, cannot figure out how to use WMP9, 10 or 11.

[fishfishmonkeyhat]

I was going to make a whole thread for this, but this will do:

http://www.screamer-radio.com/

Listen to and record internet radio.

And they already have a bunch of pre-set streaming stations from around the world. Triple J is my personal choice.

[Mr Incredible]

Does anyone know of a program to convert video files to WMV?

[ZeRgY]

Does anyone know of a program to convert video files to WMV?

Why on earth would you WANT to use WMV? :O

[etnlIcarus]

http://mediacoder.sourceforge.net/download.htm

And yes, why WMV?

[Shadow Knight]

I need a good program that can convert .avi files into DVD files and preferably leaves no 'watermarks' Any help would be appreciated.

[Queenie]

For mac users, there's a program for file converting called VISUALHUB. it converts to Ipod, PSP, DVD, AVI, MP4, WMV, MPEG and Flash.

search for it on google.

[etnlIcarus]

Mac only, Queen.

SK, check the post directly above yours. ;)

[etnlIcarus]

Double post:

http://www.launchy.net/

[fishfishmonkeyhat]

Double post:

http://www.launchy.net/

That's pretty dandy have sum pep.

[Thalass]

does anyone know a good video file converter that is simple to use an has lots of input/output formats?

[fishfishmonkeyhat]

http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html

It's super!

[Thraxas]

Don't know if this has been mentioned before and most of you probably already know about it but you can go to http://www.giveawayoftheday.com and get a different piece of licensed software for free. The software changes every day. It's pretty hit and miss but there have been some pretty good things on there.

[turb06]

i need a program that can convert the .m4a files i download from itunes to .mp3. Suggestions please?

Thanks.

[fishfishmonkeyhat]

http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html

It's super!

[etnlIcarus]

1 - ImgBurn http://www.imgburn.com/
Nero shmeero.

2 - MusikCube http://www.musikcube.com/
Hey kids, like WinAmp but don't like the bloat? Like iTunes but don't like more bloat? Then try MusikCube, with all the fun of an insufferable K!

* Less than 3MBs. I repeat: the whole damn thing = < 3 megabytes. You can download this baby in the time that it takes you to sneeze.
* *****-all memory footprint.
* Modern playlist and library management ala iTunes.
* simple, compact layout, reminiscent of WinAmp's heyday.
* BSD licence, which would be cooler if the hacking community knew about this gem.
* Depreciated *nix support, which means nothing to you but pisses me off greatly.
* I hate this app because it *almost* works on Wine but widgets aren't painted properly. It also explains the following Windows screenshot:

http://etnlicarus.googlepages.com/musikcube.jpg

[DekarTyphon]

What a crappy background.

[etnlIcarus]

What a crappy background. If this guy thinks it cool (http://hyperactive.com.au/showthread.php?postid=471297#post471297) then it's good enough to be put somewhere where I never see it.

[DekarTyphon]

Stevo likes Vaseline on toast.

[etnlIcarus]

Stevo likes Vaseline on a lot of things, not all of which I'm betting you'd mock.

[etnlIcarus]

I've discovered a recurring trend: any windows software with the word, "cube" in it is good by default.

Behold CubicExplorer (http://www.cubicreality.com/cubicexplorer/download/): A free alternative to Windows Explorer.

It's not a deep, client-style app which allows batch renaming and advanced stuff like that. Rather, it provides a richer, more flexible option than Win Explorer.

By default, it comes with more toolbars and sidebars than it should but it's UI is fully dragable and editable, meaning you can make is lean, sleek and suit your needs with no more than a minute's work.

It has a full text editor integrated into it. Whether you consider that a good thing is up to you.

Two of the most appealing features, however, you can see in the following screenshot.

Firstly, you can browse multiple folders in tabs, just like you would a webpage.

The seconds is what it calls, "Bread Crumbs", and what the rest of the world calls a path bar. If you haven't seen this before, the premise is simple: with each folder you enter, a small button is added to a history-bar, which you can see just under the tab-bar. It's like a more convenient alternative to the back button.

To that, it comes with several visual themes (with an Outlook 2003 theme enabled by default, good if you like baby-blue being vomited all over your screen), which gives you a little more freedom in making it fit-in with your system.

The total download in less than 2MBs.

http://etnlicarus.googlepages.com/evil_os_small.jpg (http://etnlicarus.googlepages.com/evil_os.jpg)

[*InFiNiTe*]

Hamachi is a good networking program. You'd all know about it. I use it to play War3 and StarCraft with my people I know who've been banned from Battle.net.

Lag free gaming ftw!

[PrattP]

A free FTP would be FileZilla (http://filezilla-project.org/).

I'm sure it's been said, but just not updated to the main page.

Meh. Download it.

[Rambo]

This program must be done to death. But whose up for some rocketdock?

Its an adjustable bar that you see on macs, but for PC. Worth the download.

http://www.rocketdock.com

[TAT]

Not sure how often this thread is looked at or updated, but I'd like to share my free DVD/CD burning program, CDBurnerXP (http://cdburnerxp.se/download). The latest version is 4.0.024.439. CDBurnerXP can also burn HD-DVD's and BluRay discs if you're one of the 3 people worldwide with one of those format burners.

I can guarantee that CDBurnerXP works with XP. Vista, 2000 and all other OS's I'm not at all sure about.

I've used quite a few DVD/CD burning applications over the years, but CDBurnerXP just does everything easier and better. You just load up the program, put in your blank media, choose the correct program option and just drop and drag. Piss easy. I've used it dozens upon dozens of times for DVD rips and data discs, CDs and even an X360 update. No problems at all. Highly recommended.

[Trillville]

http://wordweb.info/free/

This thread doesn't even belong in the PC Gaming forum. That is all. ciao

[banjoeskimo]

For AVG Anti-Virus users, version 8.0 is finally available for free (http://free.grisoft.com/ww.download?prd=afe#tba2).

[Clockw0rk]

Thanks, but I use PC-Cillin because I actually value my data.

[Newell]

For AVG Anti-Virus users, version 8.0 is finally available for free (http://free.grisoft.com/ww.download?prd=afe#tba2).

Hooray!

Also Ashampoo Burning Studio 6 FREE (http://www.freewarefiles.com/Ashampoo-Burning-Studio-FREE_program_41028.html). It can burn anything and also rip CD images.

[IntErlOpr]

Here's a couple of useful programs I've found lately:

Paint .NET (http://www.getpaint.net/) - A nice little paint package that is quite powerful & a small download.

Ascii Generator (http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=133786&package_id=146945&release_id=577709) - This program will take any pic and convert it to an Ascii equivalent (B & W or Colour) accurate and pretty neat!

Both require the Microsoft .NET 2.0 framework BTW.

[JimmyKane]

http://www.phun.at/

nice physics sandbox. made by a uni student for his phd.
unfortunately the gameplay video pretty well shows most of what I think can be done with it but...use your imagination I guess

[IntErlOpr]

Wasn't really sure where to put this, here seemed the closest match. I made a pretty versatile batch file to mostly automate the process of converting videos using FFMpeg, I got sick of having to type in long strings of text when I had half a dozen videos to do. Mostly I use it to convert videos from the flv format (When you download embedded videos from YouTube etc, with a site such as Flashload or Keepvid) to something easier to manipulate. You will have to edit 2 lines but it's explained in the text file and it's only a couple of paths.

FFMpeg Batch File (http://www.adam.com.au/oyates/FFMpegb.zip)

EDIT - If anyone just downloaded it, it must be run from the same directory as the videos to be converted as opposed to what I said. If you've read this before you downloaded don't worry, change has been made to the read me.

[thegreatlordpancake]

Does anyone know where I can get microsoft word for free.
It must be a small file size please.

[Newell]

AbiWord. (http://www.abisource.com/) It's better because it isn't Microsoft.

[Bellamut]

OpenOffice (http://www.openoffice.org/). I'm not sure whether it's better or worse than Abiword, but one thing's for sure: you're not going to find out how to get Word for free on this forum.

[PrattP]

OpenOffice (http://www.openoffice.org/). I'm not sure whether it's better or worse than Abiword, but one thing's for sure: you're not going to find out how to get Word for free on this forum.

Look for the Free [Illegal] Software thread.

[Bellamut]

Look for the Free [Illegal] Software thread.

Does that mean that there's a Non-Free [Illegal] Software thread too?

[Newell]

OpenOffice (http://www.openoffice.org/). I'm not sure whether it's better or worse than Abiword, but one thing's for sure: you're not going to find out how to get Word for free on this forum.
OpenOffice is better than AbiWord, but a lot larger.

[igotnewsuper8systemWRONG!]

I just recently finished Dues Ex and I loved it, so now I am out to play through some more PC classics. If you could point me in the direction of old pc games that have become freeware (or that I could pick up somewhere for $5) it would be much appreciated.

[Fenrir]

Does Inquisitor update this thread anymore?

I'm not sure this thread is suited to PC Gaming, anyway.

[Bellamut]

Inq only posts every couple of months these days :(

[dinopoke]

I just recently finished Dues Ex and I loved it, so now I am out to play through some more PC classics. If you could point me in the direction of old pc games that have become freeware (or that I could pick up somewhere for $5) it would be much appreciated.

A bit late but here you go. Have fun!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_commercial_games_released_as_freeware

[Nintendork]

Barkley Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden (http://www.gamingw.net/forums/index.php?topic=68488.0) is a freeware JRPG featuring none other then Charles Barkley. Just downloaded it but haven't had a chance to play yet.

8F1cOvZ3nS8

[PVT parts]

The suffering by midway just got released for free its the entire game but only for PC.

[aubergine]

I'd be very interested in a free or extremely cheap equivalent to Final Draft - the script formatting software which laughably costs $300-$500 for what is essentially a 30 meg Wordpad margins mod.

[banjoeskimo]

Dunno if either of these have cropped up before, but for the graphic design crowd on a budget, these could be useful.

First up is FontStruct (http://fontstruct.fontshop.com/), a font creation tool that you can run in-browser with Flash. Gives you a nice grid and lots of presets for building your own typeface, is extremely intuitive, and all your results can be saved as either Open Type or True Type. Additionally, you can share and download everyone else's fonts for free.

Secondly, we have Sumo Paint (http://www.sumo.fi/products/sumopaint/index.php?id=0), which can only be described as the most technically amazing Flash app I've ever seen. It's basically Photoshop, as a Flash app, in-browser. It doesn't have everything? But it has support for various brushes, shapes, layers, transparencies, image-resizing and minor editing capabilities. Also has a lot of the blending options from Photoshop too. All your images can be saved as JPEGs, or uploaded to a Sumo account.

[PrattP]

DSecondly, we have Sumo Paint (http://www.sumo.fi/products/sumopaint/index.php?id=0), which can only be described as the most technically amazing Flash app I've ever seen. It's basically Photoshop, as a Flash app, in-browser. It doesn't have everything? But it has support for various brushes, shapes, layers, transparencies, image-resizing and minor editing capabilities. Also has a lot of the blending options from Photoshop too. All your images can be saved as JPEGs, or uploaded to a Sumo account.

Holy shit that's amazingly awesome!

[Sir_Psycho]

I'm looking for a reliable .flv player. By reliable, I'm particularly referring to lack of malware etc.

[Watchers]

VLC can do it, but it isn't great at it (mine won't let me skip through parts of the video, but it will play just fine if I open it and leave it alone).

Otherwise just google for a program that converts to avi.

[Clift]

I've found GOM Player to be quite good.

[Watchers]

I know this is probably a dumbarse question, but is there a program that allows you to put an avi file onto a DVD then watch it in a conventional DVD player? My version of Nero can't do it, btw.

[banjoeskimo]

Final version of the new Windows Live Messenger (http://download.live.com/?sku=messenger) is out. It sports a redesigned UI and easier to navigate options.

[khFREAK]

PaintNET (http://www.getpaint.net) - Free photoshop... kinda...

not as great, but works. :)

[PrattP]

Final version of the new Windows Live Messenger (http://download.live.com/?sku=messenger) is out. It sports a redesigned UI and easier to navigate options.

I don't like it. :( It's all weird... will certainly take some getting used to.

EDIT: It's actually really awesome now. Talk about bipolar!

EDIT x2 (after reading Newell's post below): There is however a heap of unused white space on the right of the window.

[PrinceCaspian]

I'd be very interested in a free or extremely cheap equivalent to Final Draft - the script formatting software which laughably costs $300-$500 for what is essentially a 30 meg Wordpad margins mod.

Final Draft is worth the money. It does a lot more than a wordpag margins mod.


However cheapass screenwriters swear by Celtx - I've not tried it myself, but its name crops up often enough


Edit - oh wow, I just realised how old that request was. Sorry guys.

[Newell]

Final version of the new Windows Live Messenger (http://download.live.com/?sku=messenger) is out. It sports a redesigned UI and easier to navigate options.

I don't like it. :( It's all weird... will certainly take some getting used to.

I agree with Pratt. A useless, clunky display. It's massive and a waste of space. Makes me wish I could chat to MSN contacts using Google Talk. But they'd probably read my conversations.

>_>

<_<

PaintNET (http://www.getpaint.net/) - Free photoshop... kinda...

not as great, but works. :)

It's all I use. I can't use Photoshop well, and Paint.NET does everything I, and most people, need. Highly recommended.

[banjoeskimo]

I agree with Pratt. A useless, clunky display. It's massive and a waste of space. Makes me wish I could chat to MSN contacts using Google Talk. But they'd probably read my conversations.

Would turning off avatars and shrinking text/window size help?

Speaking of free software, if anyone wants to disable all the ads and crap in WLM, A-Patch (http://apatch.org) is your friend.

[PrattP]

Yeah well after I really fiddled with the settings, I got it looking the way I wanted, hence the change in my opinion. And because when the window is maximized the scene is pixelated on my wide screen, I've got it reduced to a smaller, compact window. That also removed the white space, but isn't too small (MSN default).

Also deviantART wallpapers look gorgeous as scenes.

[Newell]

Maybe I'm negative on the size because of my small PC screen.

[mageman84]

Not sure if it's been posted or not, sorry if it has.

www.giveawayoftheday.com has some good stuff, but it's rather hit and miss and depends what you're looking for or what you think looks interesting

[/backslash]

If anyone wants an awesome freeware image viewer for browsing between stuff and doing some minor editing, get Picasa made by Google. Very professional presentation like a Mac program (some ideas taken from Aperture methinks), easy to navigate between folders and very smooth :D I was using ACDSee for almost the exact same thing (aside from the additional tools) which was a lot clumsier

[Mr.Mew]

Some anti-virus stuffs. It was recommended to me by several computer whiz people, the kinda "Don't leave home without it" comments followed. Don't know much else of it though, so I'll leave it to those who know heads/tails on the topic. It is free though (obviously), and updates its virus database regularly...like, twice a day as far as I can tell. It pops up every time I login anyway, note: not in an annoying pop up way though. Hope it helps ^.^

http://www.avast.com/

[9warbane]

Firewalls
Comodo (http://personalfirewall.comodo.com/) - was really useful when I had a virus where I closed Firefox but it would still be running sending info.

Instant Messaging
Pidgin (http://www.pidgin.im/) - has spell check.

Media Players
Songbird (http://www.getsongbird.com/) - great for playing music, has great add ons.

[Thraxas]

For all you budding game makers:

Unreal Development Kit is now free (http://www.udk.com/index.html)

Unity 3D Indie is now free (http://unity3d.com/#freeunity)

DarkBasic Pro is now free (http://darkbasicpro.thegamecreators.com/?f=free)

[RAAM]

Paint.NET (Similar to Photoshop)
http://www.paint.net

{edit: I did a search on the forum and someone has mentioned it but its not on first page}

[TAT]

Freeware Games

The first 3 Command & Conquer titles are being offered for free from the C&C site:

http://www.commandandconquer.com/classic

Tiberian Sun + Expansion: 1.2Gb
Red Alert: 500Mb each (Allied & Soviet)
C&C: ~600Mb each (GDI & NOD)

[Silverwolf]

Freeware Games

The first 3 Command & Conquer titles are being offered for free from the C&C site:

http://www.commandandconquer.com/classic

Tiberian Sun + Expansion: 1.2Gb
Red Alert: 500Mb each (Allied & Soviet)
C&C: ~600Mb each (GDI & NOD)

Very cool.

[Silverwolf]

Anyone know of a decent pdf reader?

[Rambo]

adobe acrobat?

[VanAce]

I just use Adobe's Acrobat Reader.

[9warbane]

Anyone know of a decent pdf reader?
Foxit Reader (http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/reader/).

[Optimus]

I prefer Sumatra PDF. Quickest one to load up.