61 Free Desktop Applications, Webapps, and Tools We're Most Thankful For

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61 Free Desktop Applications, Webapps, and Tools We're Most Thankful For

  1. Firefox (see also: Power User's Guide to Firefox 3, Top 10 Firefox 3.5 Features)
  2. VLC (see also: Master Your Digital Media with VLC, VLC Hits 1.0 with Better Playback and File Support)
  3. CCleaner (see also: Five Best Windows Maintenance Tools)
  4. Dropbox (see also: Use Dropbox for More Than Just File Syncing, Sync Files and Folders Outside Your My Dropbox Folder)
  5. 7-Zip (see also: Five Best File Compression Tools)
  6. OpenOffice.org (see also: OpenOffice.org 3.1's Usability Tweaks, OpenOffice.org Screenshots Preview a Ribbon-Like Toolbar)
  7. Google Chrome (see also: The Power User's Guide to Google Chrome, 2009 Edition)
  8. µTorrent (see also: Tweak uTorrent's Settings for Faster Downloads, Five Best BitTorrent Applications)
  9. Notepad++ (see also: Five Best Text Editors, AutoSave Adds Reassurance to Notepad++ Editing)
  10. Gmail (see also: Our full Gmail coverage)
  11. GIMP (see also: Gimp 2.7 Beta Improves Text Editing, Streamlines Saving)
  12. Paint.NET (see also: Paint.NET Releases Big Update, Still a Killer Photoshop Alternative, Paint.NET Plugin Lets You Open Photoshop Files)
  13. Microsoft Security Essentials (see also: Microsoft Security Essentials Free Antivirus App Leaves Beta, Stop Paying for Windows Security; Microsoft's Security Tools Are Good Enough)
  14. Revo Uninstaller (see also: Lifehacker Pack 2009: Our List of Essential Free Windows Downloads)
  15. Evernote (see also: Evernote 3.5 Beta Brings Tons of Tiny Fixes to Windows, Expand Your Brain with Evernote)
  16. Thunderbird (see also: Thunderbird 3 Release Candidate Available for Download)
  17. Audacity (see also: Geek to Live: Make a ringtone from any MP3)
  18. ImgBurn (see also: Turn Your PC into a DVD Ripping Monster, Five Best CD and DVD Burning Tools)
  19. Picasa (see also: Picasa 3.5 Organizes Your Photos with Facial Recognition)
  20. Skype (see also: Our full Skype coverage)
  21. Pidgin (see also: Ten Must-Have Plug-ins to Power Up Pidgin, Five Best Instant Messengers)
  22. Ubuntu (see also: First Look at Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala, Dual-Boot Windows 7 and Ubuntu in Perfect Harmony)
  23. iTunes (see also: iTunes 9 Improves Syncing, Network Sharing, More)
  24. foobar2000 (see also: Screenshot Tour: The beautiful and varied world of foobar2000, Hack Attack: Roll your own killer audio player with foobar2000)
  25. Foxit Reader (see also: Five Best PDF Readers, Lifehacker Pack 2009: Our List of Essential Free Windows Downloads)
  26. FileZilla (see also: Five Best FTP Clients, Build a Home FTP Server with FileZilla)
  27. VirtualBox (see also: The Beginner's Guide to Creating Virtual Machines with VirtualBox)
  28. TrueCrypt (see also: Geek to Live: Encrypt your data, Five Best Portable Applications)
  29. Avast! (see also: Five Best Antivirus Applications)
  30. Defraggler (see also: Five Best Disk Defragmenters)
  31. KeePass (see also: Eight Best KeePass Plug-Ins to Master Your Passwords, How to Use Dropbox as the Ultimate Password Syncer)
  32. Opera (see also: Opera 10.10 with Unite Media Server Released)
  33. AVG (see also: AVG 9 Free Now Available for Download)
  34. Digsby (see also: Five Best Instant Messengers, Digsby Sees the Light, Removes (Some) Bundled Crapware)
  35. Google Reader (see also: Our full Google Reader coverage)
  36. Winamp (see also: Win7shell Adds Windows 7 Jump List Support to Winamp)
  37. Google Earth (see also: Google Earth 5.1 Speeds Up Your World Browsing)
  38. TeraCopy (see also: Five Best Alternative File Copiers)
  39. Launchy (see also: Our full Launchy coverage)
  40. Transmission (see also: Lifehacker Pack 2009: Our List of Essential Free Mac Downloads)
  41. Eclipse IDE
  42. SpyBot Search & Destroy (see also: Five Best Malware Removal Tools)
  43. Adium (see also: Adium Updates with Security Fixes, Better Facebook Integration)
  44. PuTTY (see also: Add Tabs to PuTTY with PuTTY Connection Manager)
  45. Songbird (see also: Songbird 1.0 Release Official, Fixes Bugs, Plays iTunes Purchases, Killer Add-ons Make Songbird So Much Better)
  46. Sumatra PDF (see also: Sumatra 1.0 is a Blazing Fast Replacement for Adobe Reader)
  47. XBMC (see also: Build a Silent, Standalone XBMC Media Center On the Cheap, Customize XBMC with These Five Awesome Skins, Turbo Charge Your New XBMC Installation)
  48. Blender (see also: Learn Blender with free e-book)
  49. CDBurnerXP (see also: Five Best CD and DVD Burning Tools)
  50. Everything (see also: Everything Finds Windows Files As You Type, Top 10 Tiny & Awesome Windows Utilities)
  51. HandBrake (see also: HandBrake Updates to 0.9.4 with Over 1,000 Changes, 64-Bit Support)
  52. Rainmeter (see also: Rainmeter 1.0 Brings the Enigma Desktop to Everyone)
  53. AutoHotkey (see also: Turn Any Action into a Keyboard Shortcut, Hack Attack: Knock down repetitive email with AutoHotKey)
  54. Google Calendar (see also: Our full Google Calendar coverage)
  55. MediaMonkey (see also: MediaMonkey 3.2 Syncs with More Devices, Adds Auto Folder Watching)
  56. Quicksilver (see also: A beginner's guide to Quicksilver)
  57. WinSCP
  58. Google Voice (see also: Make Unlimited Free Calls on Your Cellphone with Google Voice, How to Ease Your Transition to Google Voice)
  59. Boxee (see also: Build a Cheap But Powerful Boxee Media Center, Boxee to Launch Beta with Loads of New Features)
  60. AdBlock Plus (see also: Top 10 Must-Have Firefox Extensions, 2009 Edition)
  61. Media Player Classic (see also: Five Best Video Players)

The Top Ten Freeware Products of 2009: Users choice from Gizmo blog

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1. Mozilla Firefox 3.5
Users Choice: Freeware Product of 2009  (25% of total vote)
Other browsers may be faster and sexier but Firefox with its huge range of add-ons remains the most capable browser for everyday use. Used by more of our site visitors than any other browser.
2.  Avira Antivir Free  (12%)
Antivir provides an extraordinary level of anti-malware protection for your PC at zero cost. There have been signature file update problems for the free version in recent months but these now seem to have been resolved
3.  Google Chrome browser  (10%)
Fast, safe and the shape of things to come. The most recent version now accommodates extensions.
4.  Microsoft Security Essentials  (9%)
A much better anti-malware scanner from Microsoft than anyone thought possible and low on resource usage as well. A great solution for low risk users.
5.   Comodo Firewall  (8%)
Extraordinary protection for those sufficiently technically competent to use it.
6.  Avast! Antimalware  (5%)
The most complete free anti-malware program available. It's a bit heavier on resources than Avira but the detection rates are superb.
7.  Picassa 3  (5%)
The ideal way to store, manage  and edit your online photos. The user interface is a gem.
8.  Everything Search  (5%)
Find any file on your hard drive in an instant without bogging down your PC in background indexing. Only finds files by name not content.
9.  Opera 10  (5%)
Opera's devoted fans will tell you it's the fastest, safest and most complete browser available. They are probably correct but somehow Opera has never got the traction it deserves.
10.  VLC Media Player (5%)
A multi-platform media player that runs mostly without the need for external codecs. It's the player of choice for many experienced users though a little daunting for beginners.

See GIZMO editors' selections for the best freeware of 2009

SUPERAntiSpyware Online Safe Scan FREE

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SUPERAntiSpyware.com has released SUPERAntiSpyware Online Safe Scan, a powerful new tool in the fight against the latest and particularly difficult malware infections.

This new online scanner is a critically important tool for computer users and technicians. The new breed of infections simply block most, if not all, anti-spyware and anti-virus products from running. This leaves users and technicians in a desperate situation. This new stand alone online “Safe Scan” will run when other products are blocked.

There is an interesting twist to this new product. Instead of downloading and installing the free edition of SUPERAntiSpyware, you simply download an executable which, when launched, effectively turns SUPERAntiSpyware into a cloud application. Pretty cool move.

If you’re asking if you can run an online virus scanner while your principal onboard AV application is running, the answer is – yes.

SUPERAntiSpyware Online Safe Scan is absolutely free at www.superantispyware.com/onlinescan.html.

Follow the instructions below to initiate the SUPERAntiSpyware Online Scan. The scanner will detect AND remove over 1,000,000 spyware/malware infections. The scanner does NOT install anything on your Start Menu or Program Files and does NOT need to be uninstalled.

The SUPERAntiSpyware Online Safe Scan is free for personal use. If you are a computer technician, IT person or would like to run the SUPERAntiSpyware Online Safe scan in your corporate environment, please contact us here for a license.


1. Start the Scan

Click the button to the right to start the scanner download process.
Click here to scan your computer now

2. Download the Scanner

Click the RUN button when prompted. If you are using a browser other than Internet Explorer then prompt may be different.


3. Wait for the Scanner to Download

The scanner will download in just a few seconds.


4. Run the Scanner

Click the RUN button when prompted. This will start the scanner. Click the "Click here to Start" button and then the "Scan your Computer" button to start the scanning process.
   


SUPERAntiSpyware.com provides users of our SUPERAntiSpyware Professional FREE, unlimited 24/7 technical support via e-mail. Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions.http://www.superantispyware.com/onlinescan.html
 
This new online scanner is a critically important tool for computer users and technicians. The new breed of infections simply block most, if not all, anti-spyware and anti-virus products from running. This leaves users and technicians in a desperate situation. The stand alone online “Safe Scan” will run when other security products are blocked.

Free Mail Collector - All Email Accounts in One Place

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Fri, 12/18/2009   from Techsupportalert website:  Mail Collector lets you read and send emails from your multiple email accounts in one place. Easy to set up, no more going through various complicated settings for incoming and outgoing servers.

Mail Collector resides in GMX Mail which you need to sign up if you do not have one. It's free.
Once you have a GMX Mail account, log in and click Mail Collector. It shows you four simple steps to go—just select a provider (Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail or others) from a pull-down menu, enter an email address and password, click "Continue" with the default setup and "Confirm". That's it. And all mails will start flowing in from that account. 

Continue reading here http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/free-mail-collector-all-email-accounts-one-place.htm

One Comment  I'll stick with PopPeeper. Works with Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail, etc. You name it, it works with it. Plus it's portable!

SoftMaker Office 2008 for Free Office suite

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SoftMaker Office 2008 for Free

From techsupportalert website..Posted: 17 Dec 2009 This is a pretty impressive office suite comprising a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation program and scripting utility. To the eye it looks very like Office XP and it works very well indeed. In fact Infoworld rated it as superior to Open Office 3.1.

Overall this is a pretty decent freebie. No it's not got the extraordinary feature set of Office 2007 but it has just about everything normal users need.  The only major component missing is a replacement for Outlook but there are plenty of other free alternatives you can use instead. See here: Best Free PIM  Best Free Email Client
How does it compare to Open Office? Well Infoworld consider it to be better the Open Office V3.1.

Also see other alternatives to MS Office at an earlier posting I did in this blog  http://softwareblessings.blogspot.com/2009/10/alternatives-to-ms-word-and-office.html

Test Drive And Learn Windows 7 Features From Your Web-Browser

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Microsoft Windows 7 and if you  planning to get switched on the new operating-system now you can test and learn the new features online right from your web-browsers - thanks to newly introduced Windows 7 Test Drive service from Microsoft which allows users and developers to experience Windows 7 running live on Microsoft servers in an safe virtual test-drive environment accompanied with supporting step-by-step walkthrough videos of it's features.

The free test-drive resource requires no special software installation and runs inside your web-browser (Internet Explorer) and needs a single Active-X installation to get started.

The test-drives are divided into various categories like productivity, security & control, streamlined PC management etc. which can be accessed from the official Windows 7 Test Drive website here. http://www.microsoft.com/click/WindowsTestDrive/itpro/
 
 

Best Free Firewall

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From TechSupportalert website:  No other freeware product causes as much angst to users, whether in installation or day-to-day use, as a firewall. To find a stable and high quality firewall for windows often involves a process of trial and error. Firewalls should protect while not being too intrusive or too complicated to handle. This article gives you a selection of the best free software firewalls available.

If you want to learn more about firewalls, visit these excellent sites: How Firewalls Work and Microsoft Security Firewalls FAQ. If you don't decide to use one of the firewall products in the article, at least remember to turn on the Windows firewall. Be sure to use only one software firewall at a time. But feel free to combine a hardware and a software firewall to improve protection. Additionally, most products highly recommend uninstalling other third-party software firewalls before installation (and disabling the Windows firewall if they don't).

Oh, and I always create a drive image or restore point before installing a new firewall since they are known to give your PC serious problems if they conflict with anything. I installed and uninstalled each firewall several times during testing and had no major problems, but I was careful to make sure each one uninstalled cleanly before installing another firewall (often with Revo/Zsoft Uninstaller and additional cleaning as needed with CCleaner/Autoruns, or with a fresh drive image or restore point).

Firewalls are increasingly useful to help you control the activities of Internet facing applications. Many users now leave their Internet on all the time, increasing their risk to malware. It's also becoming difficult to tell when applications connect online because they link so many of their features to Internet resources. Few programs stop to ask your permission. So I predict that firewalls will be ever more important for privacy and control.

The writer organized the article into two sections: (I) software firewalls for broad protection and greater user involvement; (II) software firewalls for basic protection and less user involvement. 

Continue reading his recommendations here http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-firewall.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+gizmosbest+%28Gizmo%27s+Best-ever+Freeware%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail#Quick_Selection_Guide

Best Free Software to Cut, Split or Merge Audio Files

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12/03/2009 - 20:25  Introduction  from gizmosbest blog
So, you've got some big mp3 or other audio files which you want to trim, splice, split or otherwise cut down to size, maybe for your mp3 player. Perhaps you want to extract one or more songs from a large audio file, or a particular part of a radio program you recorded (cut the commercials!). You want to split a wav file you've transferred from vinyl into its original tracks. Or you want to use a particular portion of an mp3 file to create a personalized ring tone for your smart phone.

You could use an all-round audio editing freeware program like Audacity, but that isn't the most convenient or efficient way. Your best bet is probably to use a smaller, more specific program for the job: a lightweight freeware splitter (or joiner). Perhaps something you can run even on an oldish laptop. And you'll be better off choosing a lossless splitter which — unlike Audacity, for example — will cut (or merge) your files without any loss of sound quality due to decompressing and recoding.

mp3DirectCut is likely to be top choice if your main need is simply to cut / split mp3 files. It's a lightweight, portable, lossless mp3 splitter which is a joy to use even on less powerful computers.
Like other top audio file splitters,  mp3DirectCut  incorporates an audio player with a volume unit (VU) meter which lets you see as well as hear the points where you want to cut. Mp3DirectCut offers a good range of handy features, including pause detection,  CUE sheet support, looping, volume gain, fading trimming, ID tagging, etc.

A particular strong point is the simplicity of its neatly arranged interface. It's a pleasure to get to know this no frills program and there's an excellent manual to help (and here's a tutorial on how to make a ring tone with mp3DirectCut).  Splendid, straightforward portable freeware.   

Read other program recommendations continue reading here http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-cut-split-merge-audio-files.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+gizmosbest+%28Gizmo%27s+Best-ever+Freeware%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail

manual http://www.geocities.co.jp/SiliconValley-SanJose/2485/mp3DirectCut/mp3directcut_manual_old.html

how to make a ring tone with mp3DirectCut  http://www.mobile9.com/invboard/lofiversion/index.php/t33191.html

Five Best Antivirus Applications & Best Antivirus Application: AVG

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READ INTERESTING HEADLINES BY CLICKING THE LINKS BELOW
 

FREE Daniusoft Video to 3GP Converter for your cell phone video & Free Audio and Video Converter

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Daniusoft Video to 3GP Converter can convert your videos in AVI, MP4, MPEG, WMV, XviD, H.264, DAT, MOV, ASF and FLV formats to 3GP (3gp), 3GP2 (3g2), MP4, XviD, H.264, DAT, MOV, ASF, FLV, M4A and MP3 formats.



Apart from basic video conversion you can also perform advanced tasks like splitting video into small files, cut off movie black edge and select aspect ratio to meet you mobile phone's need and preset encoding parameters to get an ideal output quality. Once converted you can enjoy your videos on all popular mobile phones such as Nokia, Motorola, iPhone, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, LG, Smart Phone, PDA and so on, Daniusoft Video to 3GP Converter is compatible with Windows 2000, 2003, XP, Vista OS platforms.


A fully-functional free copy of the free 3GP Video converter software can be downloaded from the links below:


File : daniu-video-3gp_full129.exe Size : 6779 KB

Via megaleecher.net 

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Free Audio and Video Converter

A professional audio/video (AV) converter, iWisoft Free Video Converter, offers to users for free to convert AV files from one format to another suitable for playback on various digital devices.

This free program is ideally designed for ease of use with a clean user interface — just add a file, select an output profile and folder, click the Start button and the conversion begins right away for you.

Most popular AV input and output formats are supported. For output, you can choose common AV formats, or select a format suitable for playback on an MP3 or MP4 player, iPod, iPhone or any other digital devices listed in the menu from the program.
A default output profile does not suit your need? You can adjust it by selecting a suitable AV codec, bit rate, frame rate, video size, aspect ratio, audio channel, sample rate or volume level from a drop-down menu. Your setting can be saved as a user defined profile for subsequent uses.

What's more? Some basic editing functions, such as cropping, trimming, merging, adding watermark, capturing, etc., are included in the program, with a built-in player for a preview too.

Download: http://www.easy-video-converter.com/download.html
File Size: 8.9 MB
System: Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7.
 
Via  Gizmo's freeware blog


 

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