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  1. #1
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    What free software do you use?

    Oldfart52 and I got into a sub-discussion in another thread about a free software program which he hadn't heard of that I had tried, and that got me thinking that maybe I wasn't the only one who was interested in free software, and he wasn't the only one looking for free software.

    So I thought I would post a list of my favorite free computer software (free being my favorite price). And I was hoping you would list some of your favorites, if you had some.

    First off let me say that although I have tried Linux, various things are still holding me to a Windows environment (for now, although Windows XP will be the last version of Windows that I will pay for). So the following programs are all Windows programs, although most of them will work on Linux and/or Mac OSX (and sometimes, on some older versions of Mac).

    7-zip - Compress/uncompress utility
    Ad-Aware - Adware/spyware remover
    Audacity - Audio editor
    AVG_Anti-Virus - Anti-virus
    Blender - 3D modeling
    CDex - CD ripper
    Celestia - Space simulator
    FileZilla - FTP program
    Firefox - Web browser
    FoxIt Reader - PDF reader
    GAIM - Multi-protocol instant message program
    GIMP - Photo editor
    Inkscape - Graphics Design
    Lincity - City simulator
    Nvu - Webpage editor
    OpenOffice.org - Office Suite
    PDFCreator - PDF writer
    Picasa - Photo organizer
    ScreenCopy - Screen capture
    Scribus - Desktop Publishing
    Spybot Search and Destroy - Adware/Spyware remover
    Spyware Blaster - Adware/spyware blocker
    SuperTux - Run-and-jump game
    SWORD - Bible Study
    Thunderbird - Email Program
    VLCPlayer - Video Player

    Maybe you will find something on this list you will find useful, and hopefully you will have something on your list that I (or someone else) will find useful.

    And you don't have to stick with free software if you don't want, just please be sure to point out if it isn't free.
    Corfy
    Laugh at life or life will laugh at you.
    Website | DVD Collection

  2. #2
    j7wild Guest
    I use AVG, Spybot, Media Player Classic, MPlayer, TMPGEnc, DVD Shrink, Quicktime (not the Pro version) and I can't think of anything else right now.


  3. #3
    ZUBi's Avatar
    ZUBi is offline Valued Longtime Member (1971-2006)
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    Arrow

    The 46 Best-ever Freeware Utilities
    http://www.techsupportalert.com/best..._utilities.htm

    @ mention: for mp3 database, I use
    MPEG Audio Collection
    http://mac.sourceforge.net/

    Bush, Bin Laden, Hussein, Castro: SAME $HIT

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by ZUBi
    The 46 Best-ever Freeware Utilities
    http://www.techsupportalert.com/best..._utilities.htm
    Wow, great list. A lot of them I have heard of, but but there are a several that I will have to try out. Thanks.

  5. #5
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    I posted it in another thread, but since this one appeared

    any1 know bout some free
    list creator?
    Me angry! Where´s my food!

    My DVD Collection, My Blu-ray collection

  6. #6
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    I don't have any experience with programs like that, but I did a quick search on Sourceforge.net and came up with this one:

    http://sourceforge.net/projects/fsth

    "FileStructureToHTML literally creates an .html file for mp3s, videos and more of your selected drive or a specific directory. The files can be organized in a tree, listing or in a table. Gain a whole new way of viewing your file list."

    I'm not sure if that is what you need or not.

  7. #7
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    Bit Torrent for free, unlicenced, legal stuff
    Seriously, mostly for anime episodes from Japan.

    Quicktime is a must for this website. I also use Adobe reader and Spybot Search-and-Destroy.
    If you can stay calm, while all around you is chaos...then you probably haven't completely understood the seriousness of the situation.

  8. #8
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    thx Corfy, I tried and it was useless, lol but I´ll try to find some better

    about those programes used:
    ad-aware SE personal
    adobe reader
    audioactive mp3 audio decoder
    avast! antivirus
    bearshare
    bink and smacker - RAD video tools
    bit defender 8 free edition
    BitTorrent (dont use this one very much, use more Azareus)
    Codec Pack all in one
    DVD Shrink
    Flash to video encoder
    Free Download manager 2.0
    GSpot codec information
    ICQ5
    Irfanview
    J2SE Runtime Environment (5.0, Updt. 4)
    Macromedia flash player
    Maxthon Browser
    Media Tagger
    Net Transport
    NetMetter
    QT Alternative
    Real Alternative
    SmartFTP Client
    TMPGENc
    Vidomi
    Winamp
    WinRAR

    there are lots more, mostly bout video, but I am not sure, if they are free, lol

  9. #9
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    lol...all the software i use is "free" ....
    "I hate to advocate weird chemicals, alcohol, violence or insanity to anyone …
    but they've always worked for me,"

    Hunter S.Thompson

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by red bear
    lol...all the software i use is "free" ....
    I hope you don't get caught. In theory, in the U.S. you could get fined up to $25,000 per pirated program on your computer.

    That's why I try to stick with stuff that is free and legal.

    Now, if I could just get my company to switch some of their software, I will be all set. But no, they want to stick with the expensive software, but they don't want to pay the money for everyone to have the same version. So everyone in the building is legal, and everyone (for example) has Microsoft Office, but we have five different versions of Microsoft Office running somewhere in the building (everything from Office 95 to Office 2003). Gets to be a bit of a headache.

  11. #11
    j7wild Guest
    when you install a software you get that little legal stuff that you have to agree to which essentially say you will only use it on one computer so my question are:

    1. how does the manufacturer (Microsoft, Norton, McAfee, etc) know you put it on MORE than one PC

    2. what if the original PC you installed it on died, can you install that same copy of the software on a new PC or do you have to buy a new copy of the identical software

    3. I have put one program (which I purchased legally) on more than one computer (there are 2 computers and 2 laptops in this house), is that illegal? Was I suppose to have purchased 1 title of the same programs (that gets expensive!!) for each computer?


  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by j7wild
    1. how does the manufacturer (Microsoft, Norton, McAfee, etc) know you put it on MORE than one PC
    Well, MS has the new program that registers the serial number of your software. It basically just tracks whether that software is in use on another system or not, it can't necessarily track it back to you.

    To be fair, it is hard for companies like MS to track you down unless someone tells them about you. (And don't worry, I'm not telling.) But then again, how do record companies track people downloading MP3s? How do movie companies track down people who "pirate" movies?

    For the most part, companies are more at risk to being caught than home users, but since I am the IT department at my company, I worry about these things.

    Quote Originally Posted by j7wild
    2. what if the original PC you installed it on died, can you install that same copy of the software on a new PC or do you have to buy a new copy of the identical software
    As long as there is only one working computer with that software installed, you should be fine. Technically, there is a bit of a gray area when dealing with "OEM" software, but personally, I don't worry about it. I figure I have a copy of it, and it is only running on one computer, so I am fine.

    Quote Originally Posted by j7wild
    3. I have put one program (which I purchased legally) on more than one computer (there are 2 computers and 2 laptops in this house), is that illegal? Was I suppose to have purchased 1 title of the same programs (that gets expensive!!) for each computer?
    It depends on the program, but I would guess that you probably need to buy more copies of the software to be legal (or switch to free versions ). However, you might not need four copies (it depends on the program, check the legal End User's Licensing Agreement). Some companies allow some programs to be installed on one desktop computer and one laptop computer. Then again, some software does allow multiple copies of the software. StarOffice, for example, allows a person to install the software on up to 5 different computers. At work, we have a copy of a program called Crystal Reports that can be installed on three different computers, so it just depends.

    And yes, it does get expensive. Even the software for one computer can get expensive. I put together a CD with most of the free software I listed above and gave it out as Christmas presents. I figured up that, based on MSRP, a person could save up to $3,000 per computer using the free software over the more expensive commerical versions.

    Case in point:

    Office Suite
    Microsoft Office Professional (non-upgrade) - $500
    (contains a word processor, spreadsheet, database, presentations, crude desktop publishing, and email)
    OpenOffice.org - Free
    (contains a word processor, spreadsheet, database, presentations, and graphics design.... no email client yet, but I use Thunderbird to make up for it)

    Photo Editor
    Adobe Photoshop (non-upgrade) - $600
    GIMP - Free

    Oh, and speaking of upgrades, if you have a software program and buy an upgrade for it, that doesn't mean you can use the "old" version on another computer. Another little sticking point that drives me nuts. And you may need to keep the old version around just to prove that you ugraded the copy legally. We have piles of old software at work that we can't use but have to keep in case we ever get audited.

    All-in-all, the more I am in my position, the more I am interested in free software that can be installed on as many computers as I want and can be upgraded without worrying about keeping obsolete software around.

    EDIT: Just found this on the Business Software Alliance website... I guess I was off on the possible fine by a zero:

    Quite simply, to make or download unauthorized copies of software is to break the law, no matter how many copies are involved. Whether you are casually making a few copies for friends, loaning disks, distributing and/or downloading pirated software via the Internet, or buying a single software program and then installing it on 100 of your company’s personal computers, you are committing a copyright infringement. It doesn’t matter if you are doing it to make money or not — if you or your company is caught copying software, you may be held liable under both civil and criminal law.

    If the copyright owner brings a civil action against you, the owner can seek to stop you from using its software immediately and can also request monetary damages. The copyright owner may then choose between actual damages, which includes the amount it has lost because of your infringement as well as any profits attributable to the infringement, and statutory damages, which can be as much as $150,000 for each program copied. In addition, the government can criminally prosecute you for copyright infringement. If convicted, you can be fined up to $250,000, or sentenced to jail for up to five years, or both.

  13. #13
    j7wild Guest
    thanks Corfy;

    sound like a conspiracy by these Software Manufacturers to make money off people, nothing else!!


  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by j7wild
    sound like a conspiracy by these Software Manufacturers to make money off people, nothing else!!


    maybe because it is

  15. #15
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    To be fair, I do understand their reasoning... to a point.

    I work at a small newspaper (as I said earlier, I am the IT deparment... I am a department of one, to borrow a phrase). We had a huge debate when we got a website at the paper on whether to make the site free for anyone to look at, or close off the news to just our subscribers.

    On the one hand, we are in the information business, and if we just give out the information for free on the website, why would people buy our paper?

    On the other hand, people expect news to be free on the web. But unlike large newspapers, we don't have national advertising to support our paper and/or our website.

    Ultimately, we decided to go with a subscription plan on our website, but we have gotten a lot of complaints about it (mainly from people who don't subscribe to, i.e. pay for, our paper).

    So I understand the software companies reasoning. If you are going to use their product, they want to get paid for it.

    However, I think the prices are usually ridiculous. With my personal budget, I have a hard time justifying more than $50 per computer program for my home computer (not that I haven't paid more than $50 for software, but the exceptions are rare enough that I could list them all for you, although I can only think of 2 software purchases of more than $100), so buying a $600 program is out of the question. On the other hand, I use the $600 software at work, so I am used to doing certain things with it. So if a piece of software is out of my price range, I try to look for cheaper alternatives that still do what I need (and I know enough about computers that, if it works a little differently but still does the same thing, I don't mind learning the new software).

    And in many cases, once I am used to it I prefer the alternatives over the popular expensive versions. (I secretly installed OpenOffice.org 2.0.x on my office computer so I can use it instead of Microsoft Office 2003 Pro, and so far, nobody has noticed a difference.)

    One of the nice things about free software is I can try it without having to pay for it first. I'm not going to go out and spend $250 on a 3D modeling program only to find out that I stink at it and will never use it again when I can install a free 3D modeling program and test it out first (and so far, I stink at it, but I think that is more my own abilities than it is the program).

    Which is part of the reason I started this thread. Who knows what other software is out there that I don't know about but would be interested in trying?

    I didn't intend for this thread to be an anti-software piracy thread. And I'm not going to condemn anyone for using "pirated" software. But now, at least, you know the risks, and you know why I feel the way I feel (probably a case of TMI).

    BTW, I have tried really hard not to get into an anti-Microsoft rant. Although I could rant about them very easily and for a very long time, I just don't want to go there right now.

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