More free stuff for your computer
Have you been looking for better Windows alternatives like an affordable editor or a feature-rich browser? In the final part of the free software series, we present a list of Internet-based options that are sure to suit your needs.
Web Browsers
Internet Explorer 8 might be the hottest browser from the Microsoft labs, but you get far better freeware. Firefox has a large following, as do Opera and Chrome. The new version of Opera is likely to silence critics, and Chrome and Firefox are getting faster and more feature-rich with each upgrade.
Download from: www.mozilla.com, www.opera.com, www.google.com/chrome
Mozilla is giving Microsoft a run for its money with its free e-mail client, Thunderbird. It comes with all the basics, including junk mail filters, HTML support, multiple identities, and POP, IMAP and Microsoft Exchange server support. Additional features can be added through free extensions that allow POP3 access to Webmail services.
Download from: www.mozilla.com
Graphics Editor
Fancy yourself a graphic artist but can't afford to buy Illustrator or CorelDraw? Try Inkscape, an opensource vector graphics editor that comes with an impressive set of tutorials. It supports node editing, layers, complex path operations, bitmap tracing, flowed text, direct XML editing and more.
Download from: www.inkscape.com
FTP Client
FileZilla is a reliable, easy-to-use, lightweight FTP client capable of performing advanced tasks. It comes with a site manager and transfer queue, firewall and proxy support, and good security. It supports resumption and transfer of large files, remote file editing, drag and drop functions, and more.
Download from: www.filezilla-project.org
Download Manager
Free Download Manager gives you a fast and simple way to download files and convert videos. Features include integration with all browsers, support of downloads from RapidShare, BitTorrent support, resuming broken downloads, etc. You can also operate the manager remotely, via the Internet.
Download from: www.freedownloadmanager.org
Image Editor
Call it Photoshop Lite, if you must. GIMP is a smaller, open-source program that gives you powerful image-editing tools. Features include channels, layers and masks, filters, tabbed palettes, editable text tools, scalable brushes, etc. It also supports layered Photoshop (PSD) files.
Download from: www.gimp.org
3D Graphics
You don't need a heavy, expensive tool to create and edit 3D images. Modelling, UV unwrapping, texturing, rigging, water simulations, skinning, animating, rendering, particle and other simulations are possible on the free and light Blender.
Download from: www.blender.org
PC Security
The Belarc Advisor is a must-have on any home PC. It analyses a machine's weak points, checks if the anti-virus is up to date and all the security flaws in the Windows have been patched. It also tells you about the physical components of your computer.
Download from: www.belarc.com
Video Editor
VirtualDub is a regularly updated video capture/processing software. It has batch processing capabilities and can be extended with third-party video filters. VirtualDub is mainly geared towards processing AVI files and can read (but not write) MPEG-1.
Download from: www.virtualdub.org
Music Organiser
iTunes is good, but for updates of over 60 MB, it's a tad heavy. Media Monkey is a good option, offering excellent library management tools, integrated CD/DVD burning, a full-feature encoder and the ability to sync with most portable MP3 players.
Download from: www.mediamonkey.com
Zip Utilities
Simple, easy to use and self-explanatory, 7Zip is a free file archival tool that unpacks most archive formats and even has its own format. Advanced options include password protection, the ability to create solid and self-extracting archives and to adjust the compression level.
Download from: www.7-zip.org
IM Clients
If you're an inveterate chatter on Yahoo, MSN, AIM and Google, Pidgin is what you need. This open-source messenger accesses multiple networks, including MySpaceIM, as well as protocols such as Jabber and Gadu-Gadu. You also get smileys, file transfers and multiperson chats.
Download from: www.pidgin.im
