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The Professor's Freeware Choices
These are my choices for freeware. I use all of these packages and
highly recommend them.
- Audacity - Great
audio editor that will do most of the things any commercial package will do.
I use it to edit the audio for my podcasts and vodcast sound tracks. I
use the windows version, which works great.
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Power Toys for Windows XP - Microsoft "unofficial" software (not
supported nor validated). I have used these toys for years and they work
well. Best of all, they're free.
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Open
Office - This open source equivalent to Microsoft Office is fully
functional and even file compatible. It's a great replacement for
Office. There are versions for various operating systems.
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Autostitch - This program is designed to make panoramic photos out of
smaller sequential photos. I use it and it is easy to use and does most
everything automatically.
- Startup
Control Panel - I love this program. It gives you total control
over your startup programs without resorting to msconfig. It works great
and is very solid in its design.
- Allway Sync - This is a
great program for keeping files in sync. I have three computers that I
primarily use right now: My desktop at home, my laptop, and my desktop
at my office. I have some critical applications that run on all three
and I want to make sure that work I do on one is up to date if I sit down at
one of the other computers. The perfect app for this is Allway Sync.
It lets me sync files that have change between any of these machines and my
memory stick. Since I always carry my memory stick around with me, it
becomes the sync device. As long as I remember to sync with the stick
both at the beginning of the work session and at its conclusion, all of my
critical files on all of my computers are always synchronized. It's a
great program.
- QuickZip - This is a good
freeware zip and unzip program that has an intuitive interface and provides
all of the basic compression features you need.
- SiteAdvisor - This is a
great plugin for Internet Explorer or Firefox. It works with a Google
search. When the results of your search comes up, SiteAdvisor will have
checked all of the listings against its database. A green check will
appear next to those choices that are safe to open. Sites that are not
safe to open will be indicated. It's a great way to avoid downloading
spyware or adware.
- CCleaner
- This utility is good for cleaning your system. It will handle
cookies, registry entries, temporary files, and the like. I have used it
and it is an excellent cleaner. Caution: As is the case with any
cleaner, make sure you are sure what you are deleted and don't empty the
recycle bin until you are sure everything works after a cleaning.
- SpeedFan - This
utility helps you monitor your CPU and hard drive temperatures. With it
you can vary the speed of your fan, check on your hard drive temps and even
reclock your computer (not recommended unless you are an expert).
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Console - If you use the command prompt much, this utility
(open-source) is a wonderful tool. It will open multiple (tabbed)
command prompt sessions and let you freely switch between them. It
doesn't require an install but will run directly once unzipped. I have
pointed this link directly to the mirror sites for ease in downloading.
The Professor's Shareware Choices
These are packages I use and that are generally inexpensive to register ($30
or less)
- #1 DVD Ripper - (comments under construction)
The Professor's Linux/BSD Choices
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