Best Free Software for Windows

Wanted some thoughts on this Defragger:
http://freewaregeeks.com/UltimateDefrag_Free.html

It looks like it might be an upgrade from what we've got, but I know little about Defraggers and HDs.

Thanks...add it to the list if it's worthwhile.

 

Very handy, ta

 

Any software out to make nice looking tables?

 

For these

or these

?

 

number 2

 

I tried it, it's interesting. I like the UI but I ran a defrag and nothing happened. Maybe I did it wrong...idk.

 

Have you looked at Any Video Converter? They have a free version here: http://www.any-video-converter.com/products/for_video_free/ Best free converter i've used so far. and queue tasks and take videos off youtube as well. Pretty sure it lacks multicore support though. That would be my only complaint.

 

What is the recommended free PDF viewer? I am using Foxit Reader, but lately Foxit is slowly becoming Shareware instead of freeware...

 

latest FoxitReader 2.3.2923 is still free, for the general public. It is true that many of its addons require a token of appreciation, since it is sliding into an area of much more than just a "free PDF viewer"

cheers ...

 

I don't fully understand the need for extra defrag programs. I have defragged in the past using the windows thing when you right click on the hard drive etc.
Can someone explain why people download and use other programs to do it. I'm about to get my new laptop and want to do as much good for it as possible.

 

I use PDF Xchanger: http://www.docu-track.com/home/prod_user/PDF-XChange_Tools/pdfx_viewer/

 

I see. It's understandable since they also need to make money.

Thanks. The portable version still asks me to install though, weird. It has much more features than FoxitReader though.

 

Thanks a lot.. I am gonna try many of these!!

 

Could someone recommend a good music ripper, or should I just stick with WMP?
ta

 

I just posted this in the bargain area.

This is some pretty nifty back up software that is currently FREE, until June 8th.


http://www.ntius.com
Overview of Shadow 3
After its official release on August 2005, and receiving PC Magazine Editor's Choice and DingBat Magazine's Best of the Year Award, NewTech Infosystems, Inc., is proud to present NTI Shadow 3!

WHAT'S NEW:

1. File-Level Selection
2. Support Network file backup and sharing of backup devices
3. Auto Delete Option
4. Enhanced GUI and usability
5. Custom file type filtering Include/Exclude Options
6. Enhanced Device Support: USB flash drives, NAS devices, etc...
7. Dragon Disc enabled version supports all optical media types included DVD-Ram & Blu-ray (Windows only)

NTI Shadow 3 is an award-winning easy-to-use backup application that automatically protects your photo, music, video, and various data files. It makes data restoration as easy as dragging and dropping files from one place to another. For real-time, continuous data backup, set Shadow 3 to save your files/folders every time they change. You can also specify your backup schedule by the minute, hour, day, week and start time(s) and also choose a specific or even a customized file type with Shadow 3's new advanced file filtering.

Not only does Shadow 3 allow users to automatically copy files from their PCs to various devices in real time, but it also preserves the files in their native format - meaning no additional software is necessary to restore files. Shadow 3 works transparently in the background without disturbing you while you work, and does not take up important system resources.

NTI Shadow 3.7 Full Version
NTI Shadow 3.7 Full Version
For: Windows 2000 / XP / Vista
Size of File: 15+ MB
Versions: 3.7.1.37
Date: August 15 2007
Language:
Limitations: No Restrictions! No Expiration!
Price: $29.99 FREE

 

Thanks for the suggestions, but if you read the rules for contribution:
Guidelines for Contribution:

* Only free software
* No warez
* No web applications
* Check if it's already listed
* No promotional software
* Provide a description
* Provide a safe download

 

Personally, I use Audiograbber with great success.

 

Nice one cheers mate.

 

Any good application to convert my music to another format?

 

Plenty, check out the "Audio/Video Encoding/Converting" section.

 

Foobar2000. It's an excellent audio transcoder, you just need to get the codecs you want to convert to yourself. It's also a fine ripper, being that you can rip using offset correction in conjunction with 'standard' and 'paranoid' security settings.

On top of those things(and a multitude of others) it's an excellent tagger, insanely customizable, and is light on your system resources. Oh, it plays music too(pretty much every format, flawlessly and natively).

http://www.foobar2000.org/ ;-)

Edit - Oops, my bad, didn't realize that this had already been recommended. Great software for what Thom asked all the same. :-D

 

I second foobar2000. I've ripped my CDs to both mp3 and flac using foobar2000. You need to download the lame.exe for mp3 and flac.exe in order to do the converting though.

 

It even has a 64-bit native viewer. Woot! Been using it for a while now, though I don't do PDFs very much. It's so much nicer than bloated Adobe Reader.

I use InfraRecorder for my disc burning needs. Also a 64-bit app, very small, freeware, and fairly straightforward.

 

Does anyone know of any good free personal finance managers?
Tim

 

You can try Gnucash or Jmoney...I've used neither but just google those and you'll find plenty of info I imagine.

 

Nice List! Whatabout Replacement Shells for Windows?

 

I only know of LiteStep, but that was about a year ago that i did that research so it may be a bit dated. That should get you on your feet though.
EDIT: Found this.

 

hey calvin..u'll need to edit the 2nd link

 

Fixed, thanks.

 

Microsoft's PowerShell looks nice but I haven't tried it.

Personally, I use cygwin because I've worked with Unix a lot. Cygwin comes with the bash shell and a bunch of command-line utilities. If you're used to Unix/Linux shells, I'd recommend that.

EDIT: Oh, heh, I thought you meant command shells. You mean graphical like Explorer? Then I don't know... I'll check out Calvin's link.

 

Have I mentioned this before? Sorry if I already did.

I find it strange for Total Commander to be included in the list. As written on the website, it is not a freeware, but a shareware:

 

thanks for this great list!!!!

 

Is there a free alternative to Frontpage?

 

The List is great. Just a suggestion - Could you add AxCrypt to the list of encryption programs. It is free under the GNU GPL.

 

@Schmi Daniel the Man
Try KompoZer. I think it has some Mozilla code in it, and it does work quite well for being free.

 

Thanks De.1337,

I have downloaded it and I am checking it out now. Nice!

 

Alrightie, i'll take it down. Thanks for the info.

I'll look into it.

Yes, this is a great alternative to Frontpage/Dreamweaver, even better IMO. Although i suggest you learn XHTML and CSS and make web pages yourself by hand using vim so you get more control over your pages and comply to modern web standards.

 

Anyone know a free lightweight opensource excel program? I did a clean vista install and I dont have MS office so now I'm unable to open .xlc files.

 

OpenOffice.

Also Google Docs supports .xls files. I assume you mean .xls...

 

Yes I meant .xls. But OpenOffice seems to be too heavy on resources and its also overkill. I also Dont completely trust it. Is it really free without any ads or spyware or anything? Its my last resort if there really isnt anything better.

I've tried Google Docs but it made my system really unresponsive when I opened my document

 

Try using Zoho. It's like a better GoogleDocs. You can use your Yahoo! or Google ID with Zoho.

Nice.

 

Calvin,

Here is a couple of windows key recovery programs that are free:
Magical Jelly Bean Key finder

 

All the above unless mentioned are free or have free versions

 

OpenOffice as |crash| suggests is what you're looking for. It's really free without ads or anything, it's also a lot lighter than people make it out to be. It rivals MS Office yet it completely free, that is the power of free and open source software my friend.

Schmi Daniel the Man you're going to have to remove that post entirely as those softwares aren't allowed on NBR, same as torrent programs. I can't have them on the list.
EDIT: I'm not 100% sure so i'll ask Chaz.

 

I'll second that. OpenOffice sounds just like the thing you need; it has a nice interface, is pretty intuitive (in some ways more than MS Office) and I think the whole package is only 150ish MBs heavy.

 

Although the first two you suggested seem just fine, I'll ask Chaz about RockXP though.

 

I've been looking at the recommended software here in this thread.
I'd like to tweak my desktop appearance etc but I don't want to clog up my system with too much crap.
I'm looking at using cursorfx and iconpackager. Are they quite neat installs? Not too much crap bundled in? I'm only intersted in getting the free versions.

I'm running twin 2.5ghz processors and 4gb ram. It wouldn't slow my system down too much using them would it?
Cheers.

 

From what you've told me i don't think they would slow down your system too much.

 

Well, MS Office has ALOT of features under the hood. Though those are really professional functions that 90% of the people won't need. How Do I know this? I had a real *good* time searching for those functions since I had to include a load of them in an assignment.

 

Hey I heard about RockXP and MagicJelly. Can I include mine?
WinGuggle, not only the key but set's OEM information easily.
The most complete utility to set your OEM info.

YOUR ANTI_VIRUS will not sound any alarm.

WinGuggle 1.4 will be release tomorrow. It is scheduled for today BUT I FORGOT!!! anyway... please support my utility.

The most cool feature of ver 1.4 is automatic backup of OEM INFO.
I'm studying some OEM Customizations and simple security setup of Vista Maybe in the coming months I'll add that features to WinGuggle.