Favourite app

[Guest]

Surrealist mentioned "The Gimp" in a recent post as an app he uses on his PC. I've never used it (I'm a fan of Paintshop Pro) but it got me wondering what other apps people wouldn't want to be without...

My favourite bits of freeware on the net are Treepad Lite http://www.treepad.com/treepadfreeware/ and Atmosphere Lite http://www.relaxingsoftware.com/naturesounds.htm - both come in free and paid-for versions, are completely spyware free, and absolutely essential... (I actually paid for the full version of Treepad but never use it - I prefer the free version!).

What's your favourite piece of free software?

[Guest]

Alex - good topic! There is lots of great free software out there and I will definitely be checking out your recommendations.

My own tips are very much for beginners. I have already mentioned AVG, the free virus protection software in another thread but it's worth repeating:

http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_dwnl_free.php

Free firewall (a must if you have a broadband connection) at:

http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/c ... ome_zainfo

Handy spellcheck that works in conjuction with Internet Explorer, so you can spellcheck your forum messages for example at:

http://www.iespell.com

File sharing without spyware at:

http://www.kazaalite.tk

[Surrealist]

I'm just about rolling off my seat here. This is truly genius Alex - I've got a jungle in my study with a sheep loose in it !!!!!

I wish there was a Predator noise.

[Guest]

Thanks for that Bob.

I use Firefox so can't take advantage of iespell. Firefox is another great peice of freeware, by the way - it's a tabbed browser, and much faster than Internet Explorer. Downside is that it isn't as compatible with some web sites. (Having said that, my own web site displays better in Firefox than IE, and I can't work out why!) I use the bookmark groups to open multiple pages simultaneously. When I'm browsing the forums, for example, Firefox opens Portyweb, The Oldie forums, and Webmaster World simultaneously - a great timesaver.

Endorse your recommendations of AVG and Zonealarm, even though I took the plunge and invested in McAfee AV and firewall (legal copy - £12.49 on eBay).

Good to see Kazaa Lite back. The web site was down for a while, and I didn't know it had returned.

[Guest]

I'm just about rolling off my seat here. This is truly genius Alex - I've got a jungle in my study with a sheep loose in it !!!!!

I wish there was a Predator noise.

Ahh... you need the full version for that. You can create your own scenarios - all you need is a wav file of the Predator to customise your jungle experience. I'm sure you can download that from IMDB or somewhere similar...

I'm auditioning the full version of Atmosphere at the moment, I'll let you know if I take the plunge.

[Surrealist]

my picks of free software -

** winamp mp3 player ** http://www.winamp.com

** sambar web server ** http://www.sambar.com

** emule fileshare client - multi-source downloads ensure you get what you want **
http://www.emule-project.net/

** trillian - msn, icq, irc, yahoo chat all in one ** http://www.ceruleanstudios.com/downloads/

** skype - voice chat over teh internet ** http://www.skype.com

** quick thumbnail maker ** http://www.fookes.com/ezthumbs/

** spybot search and destroy ** http://www.safer-networking.org/