It never ceases to amaze me that a large number of computer geeks write much wonderful and usable programs and then make
it available to all as freeware,and another such group are prepared to monitor these offerings and publicise them for
everbody's benefit
I thought that I had previously mentioned Ian "Gizmo" Richards super site
http://www.techsupportalert.com/contact.htm
but the less than 100% reliable/efficient corfid search system couldn't find it so please bear with me whilst I repeat the details
(I had typed them up before I found this topic that the silly corfid search system failed miserably to do)
Ian has assembled a stunning list of The 46 Best-ever Freeware Utilities all beautifully listed by category at:-
http://www.techsupportalert.com/best..._utilities.htm
with a link to 47-103 latest additions to the list
http://www.techsupportalert.com/best_46_extended.htm
I also refound a reference in another magazine to a site that archives programs that were once freeware
and I have just found a pair more such sites that are worth knowing about if you are searching for freeware or indeed ideas
for programs that just might be useful to you
First a link I found in a brilliant UK DVD magazine that itself had 2 cover CDs crammed witn useful DVD creation programs
and had an advert for a sister publication called PC Utilities who have a website devoted to freeware at:-
http://www.magnesiummedia.com/pcutilities/
"Now featuring 24,365 programs"
you will have to register (free) to use it
the other site was featured in Gizmos latest newsletter and is:-
http://www.portablefreeware.com/
that site comprises some 20 pages containing 100 freeware programmes that you might want to include on a USB "key" drive
such as the 2 GB Ultra flydrive I bought on special offer thanks to their rebate scheme/scam for mere $9.99 from one of my
favourite online stores
Tiger Direct
from their site
Ultra FlyDrive USB 2.0 Portable Drive
Ultra’s new FlyDrive USB flash drive series brings high-data transfer rates and plenty of storage to your digital artillery.
These sleekly designed USB flash drives come in an assortment of capacities. You can practically carry an entire office’s
worth of paperwork, along with images and other data on an Ultra FlyDrive USB flash drive. Perfect if you’re highly mobile.
Wherever you fly, you can take the Ultra FlyDrive USB flash drive with you
Perfect for people like Walter who have to surf in a library,or if you have to use an internet cafe whilst on vacation
as we did once down under recently
My one criticism of the Portable Freeware site is that the programs are listed in what seems to be a random manner and no
attempt is made to provide even a basic index or category guide but the search box works so use it to locate any of the
programs I will mention below that might interest you
- GIMP Portable
Synopsis: The GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is an image editor for photo retouching, image composition and image
authoring.
- USB versions of browsers incuding
- Maxthon Combo
Synopsis: Maxthon is a tabbed browser based on the Internet Explorer rendering engine. It supports mouse gestures,
ad-blocking, skinning and a built-in RSS reader sidebar. It also has privacy protection features. For example, you can erase
browsing history, cookies, cache etc. with a single click, or configure the browser to clear them automatically when it
closes.
- Firefox Portable
Synopsis: Mozilla Firefox is an web browser that includes popup blocking, tabbed browsing, smart search and built-in download
manager. Firefox Portable is a special build of Mozilla Firefox that is optimized for use on a USB key drive. It has some
specially-selected optimizations to make it perform faster and extend the life of your USB key as well as a specialized
launcher that will allow most of your favorite extensions to work as you switch computers.
- OperaUSB
Synopsis: Opera is a fast and secure web browser that features pop-up blocking, tabbed browsing, integrated searches,
built-in email and RSS client etc. OperaUSB is a portable package for Opera that does not write to the registry nor leave
any data on the guest machine where it is run.
also
- OperaTor
Synopsis: OperaTor is a software bundle that can be easily installed on a portable memory (pendrive, usb stick, hard drive)
to allow anonymous surfing while at an internet cafe, library etc. It combines the power of Opera, The Onion Router and Privoxy to give the user an anonymous browsing experience.
and a number of other most useful (to me anyway) items including but not limited to
- Vdownloader
Synopsis: VDownloader is a download manager for video sharing sites such as YouTube, Google Video, Grinvi and DailyMotion.
Given the URL for a video clip, it downloads the clip and automatically converts it to AVI, MPEG or PSP. It supports batch
downloading and clipboard monitoring.
- PC Decrapifier (sic)
"Synopsis: PC Decrapifier helps you remove many of the common trialware and crapware found on many of the PCs from big name
OEMs. you may select exactly which items to be removed."
- Autorun.inf Editor
Synopsis: Autorun.inf Editor allows you to quickly and easily create the an "autorun.inf" file that tell an autorun (also
known as "autoplay") CD to automatically play upon insertion into a CD-ROM drive. You can set a label and an icon for the CD,
specify a program on the CD to run when the CD is inserted, and add various entries and commands to the context menu when a
user right-clicks on the CD.
- FastStone Capture
Synopsis: FastStone Capture is a powerful, flexible and intuitive screen-capture utility. It allows you to capture anything
on the screen including windows, objects, full screen, rectangle regions, freehand-selected regions and scrolling windows/web
pages. It has innovative features such as a floating Capture Panel, hotkeys, resizing, cropping, text annotation, printing, e-mailing, screen magnifier and many more.
Any questions class of 2007??
John Fowles Bt
[ June 22, 2007, 12:25: Message edited by: johnfowles ]
