Free Software Worth Using
Free Software Worth Using
The software listed here is free (at least for non-commercial use) and in use by myself. I have found it a suitable replacement for equivalent commercial software (where such exists) at least for 80% of the time.
Free Software Advantages
Why use anything else? It's free!
Free Software Disadvantages
It is sometimes quirky, often half finished. It may lack function compared to equivalent commercial software.
Free Windows Software
| Product | Task | Version | Last Visit | OS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inkscape | Edit SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) files | 0.3.7 | 20/Feb/04 | Linux & Windows | |
|
Inkscape is a fork of the (also free) application, Sodipodi. Simple but nice SVG vector graphics editor which is shaping up to be a powerful tool. Gives an outline, text based view of the picture as well as a graphical view making it very good for learning about SVG. | |||||
| There is a tiny SVG editor called EVE which may be worth a look. | |||||
| Plucker | Information gathering and reading | 1.6.1 | 01/Dec/03 | Palm, Windows, Linux(?) | |
| Used to view websites offline. This has now replaced iSilo since the JPluckX desktop tool has been released. This is far easier to use than the old Plucker desktop (which required Python to be installed - or was it Perl?). It can also convert RSS news feeds. It also includes a Palm tool which captures links saved from within Plucker and converts them on the next hotsync. | |||||
| PalmReader | Reading eBooks | 2.5.3 | 16/Jun/04 | Palm, Windows, Mac, PocketPC | |
Supported on Palm, Pocket PC, Mac and Windows it has a good range of books available and seems a lot faster than its main rival MobiPocket. The other rival is Adobe Acrobat which is a more widely supported format and whose security can be broken so you can back up the books that you have paid for - however, perhaps for that reason, there are not so many books available. I've found that I am quite happy with reading books on the Palm and it means that I no longer need to upset my wife with yet more books to store somewhere!< Cleverly, PalmReader uses the number of the credit card you used to buy the book as the code to open it (you can change it later online and re-download if you want to). This means that you can read it on ANY number of devices and even lend it out - assuming you trust the person!Note: It is not supported directly under Linux but can supposedly be run using WINE. This again highlights the limitations of eBooks. | |||||
| MobiPocket, Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Reader. MS Reader is MS ONLY and therefore VERY HIGH RISK as a platform for the longest term. Acrobat is probably the best bet for very long term but is poorly supported, possibly because of its security limitations (it is possible to bypass the security). MobiPocket has the widest platform support (PalmOS, Windows CE, PocketPC, SymbianOs, Franklin eBookMan and Windows as at Jun/2004). However there is no free version. It does allow annotation and allows customisation (fonts, etc.) but you can only read your books on up to three devices!! You have to change the "pid" online so you are totally reliant on the web site where you purchased the book for future use. OK, I had a response from an anonymous source about MobiPocket. Here is the email and my responses (in red): In the following page (http://www.knightnet.org.uk/IT/software/free-software.htm), you say that Mobipocket Reader does not exists as free version. I invite your webmaster to go and read carefully the pages listed below, and update your website. http://www.mobipocket.com/en/DownloadSoft/DownLoadReaderStep1.asp http://www.mobipocket.com/en/Support/KBase_article.asp?ArticleID=331 http://www.mobipocket.com/en/Support/KBase_article.asp?ArticleID=26 [JK] Thanks for the info, it is a shame that this information is so well hidden! Moreover, there are more eBooks in Mobipocket format than in Peanut format.[JK] As I acknowledge. Publishers now publish and sell nearly only in Mobipocket format.[JK] Nonsense! There are many thousands of books being published in eReader format. Last but not least, the Palm encryption does not work with the widely used "e-credit-cart" system, where you ask your bank to give you a temporary credit card number for one purchase (because you do not trust the payment system). [JK] Actually it does as the downloaded eBook simply requires the credit card number, it's only a number nothing more. [JK] Your comments still do not get round the fact that you are TOTALLY dependent on the originating web site continuing to operate should you ever change devices more than twice -- this is appalling! I have books that I still re-read after 30-odd years and may well pass to my children, will the originating web site for an eBook still be operating the same system in 30 or 100 years time? I think not. At least with eReader books, I can note the number and pass it on. [JK] Of course, the software probably wont exist in 30-100 years anyway and this is why I will only EVER by low cost books this way, I'll never pay full price for a book in electronic format until I can be sure that it will still be available to me in 30 years time. [JK] Many thanks for your comments though, Jules. | |||||
| AVG Anti-Virus | Anti-Virus | Free Edition (v7.0) | 14/Apr/04 | Windows | |
| Excellent, simple anti-virus tool. Free for simple, home use. Don't forget to regularly (at LEAST weekly) download virus database updates. | |||||
| DVD Decrypter | Write ISO Files (& backup DVD's) | 3.1.4.0 (3.2.2.0) | 03/Jun/04 | Windows | |
|
Simple, handy tool will write an ISO file (or similar) to CDR. Will also create a backup copy of a DVD | |||||
| Ahead Nero 5.5 will also burn ISO images to CD (see menu File\Burn Image...) | |||||
| K-Lite Mega Codec Pack (Incl. Quicktime & Real Alternative) | Tools & Codecs for viewing video and audio | 1.01 | 21/Apr/04 | Windows | |
| Replacement Quicktime player and Realplayer along with loads of audio/video codecs.
Enables playback of DVD without paid-for codecs (using the provided "Media Player Classic"). Get rid of advert laden Quicktime and Realplayer! | |||||
| K9 | Email Filtering | 1.28 | 20/Apr/04 | Windows | |
| Small, fast SPAM analyser. Works as a POP3 proxy with any Windows POP3 based client (including MS Outlook and Outlook Express). This is a really good little utility and saves me no end of grief as I am now getting up to 90% spam on my business email address. I never get false positives with K9 (except maybe one or two in the first week of use before the automatic training really kicks in) and it successfully tags 80-90% of all spam. It is very easy to use and has pretty low overheads too. | |||||
| Kerio Personal Firewall | Personal Firewall | 4.0.16 | 17/Jun/04 | Windows | |
|
This is the paid-for version of the software, it reverts to a "free for home use" version after 30 days. When it reverts to the free version some features are disabled (mainly content checking). Here are some additional resources and info links for KPF: Kerio Forum at DSL Reports Version 4 Manuals | |||||
| A alternative is Agnitum Outpost which gives about the best security of any of the personal firewalls (a free version is available). I find, though, that Outpost is a little fussy in use and sometimes becomes a pain. | |||||
| NetStumbler | Search out available Wi-Fi wireless networks | 0.4.0 | 09/Jun/04 | Windows | |
| Useful utility to hunt out wireless networks currently in range. | |||||
| Neutron | Synchronise PC Clock | 1.03 | 30/Jun/04 | Windows | |
| Another superb little utility from Robin Keir (author of the K9 anti-spam software). Synchronises the PC's clock with a public atomic clock. Just run a startup (place a link in the startup folder). Much better than the built in Windows time synch. | |||||
| Pocketknife Peek | Email Viewing | Windows | |||
| A tool for MS Outlook which allows you to open an email an look at all headers and content without any risk. Use for checking out probable spam. | |||||
| QCD | Music Player & Transcoder | 4.51 | 16/Jul/04 | Windows | |
| General purpose music player. Recent versions allow recording of most things that QCD can play (CD, MP3, WAV, etc) in WAV, MP3, and some other formats. Great tool, much prefer it to WinAmp (QCD can use some WinAmp plugins too). | |||||
| SA2000 | UK Income Tax Return (Self Assessment) | 16/Jul/04 | Windows | ||
| A simple, spreadsheet (Excel) based solution that is the equal of the more expensive products. Includes ALL of the main sections of the return, more than most of the other similar products. Even better, it is free to download and use, simply plug the appropriate figures in and then copy the results to your paper (or Internet) return. However, for UKP7.50 you can unlock the print facility which will produce a printed, authorised copy of your return plus the calculation sheets and some summaries. The same fee also allows you to file the return directly over the Internet (provided you have a login with the Inland Revenue). Save yourself lots of time and hastle, and money, by using this software! NOTE: Leave several months for setting up an account for online filing via the Government Gateway, it can be a painful process. | |||||
| Spybot Search & Destroy, Ad-Aware | Detect and clean adware and trojans | 16/Jul/04 | Windows | ||
| These two applications need to be used together as they each find slightly different malware. Ad-Aware can be found at: http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/ Spybot Search & Destroy can be found at: http://www.safer-networking.org | |||||
| The Rename | Rename files based on meta (e.g. MP3, EXIF) or other info | 2.1.6 | 05/Jul/04 | Windows | |
| Fantastic free renaming utility, a lifesaver for serious digital image users. All of my camera images are renamed as <date> | |||||
| LAME | Convert WAV to MP3 | 11/Nov/03 | Windows & Linux | ||
| LAME is available for several platforms including Windows. The basic application is command line only but various tools use the libraries and "Wav2MP3 Wizard" (on SourceForge) is a Windows GUI frontend for LAME. LAME is easy to use once you understand the basics of MP3 formats (there are good help files) and produces excellent quality. | |||||
| Mozilla Firefox | Web Browser | 0.9.2 | 16/Jul/04 | Windows & Linux | |
|
Fast, highly configurable open-source browser - now my default browser. Free at last from many of the security problems caused by Internet Explorer! I only use IE when I really have to now. Note the name change (again) from Firebird to Firefox. | |||||
| Firefox and Mozilla Browser share pretty much the same code now - however, I prefer the interface on Firefox. | |||||
| OpenOffice.org | Word Processing, spreadsheets, presentations | 1.1.2 | 16/Jul/04 | Windows & Linux | |
| THE office application for those not wanting to give loads of money to Microsoft. It is generally said to be comparable to Office 97; however it does have some more features and indeed some features that Microsoft Office still doesn't have. I use it when MS Office lets me down (largely because I have to use MS Office for work) but it is more than adequate for most people for all general use, no need to spend a fortune. Supports MS Office formats pretty well too. Check out the macro for creating extended PDF files. Also see this comparison of OOo and MS Word ways of working. | |||||
| The GIMP | Bitmap Image Editor | 2.0.2 | 15/Jul/04 | Windows & Linux | |
| Great graphics/image processing application. Though not quite as powerful or easy to use as Adobe, it doesn't cost UKP500! More than powerful for most use and not too tricky to use. Also get the LZW compression library (available separately due to license issues) so that GIMP can save GIF files. | |||||
| Mozilla Thunderbird | Internet Email and News | 0.7.2 | 16/Jul/04 | Windows & Linux & Mac & Others | |
| Excellent, free mail and news client. Supports multiple personalities, multiple accounts, POP3, IMAP4, NNTP. Still has one or two bugs being only at version 0.6 but is perfectly useable. Good replacement for Microsoft Outlook Express and one of the few packages worth considering as a replacement for Turnpike's multiple personality support. Support can be found in the forums. | |||||
| Thunderbird and Mozilla Mail are now pretty much the same application though I prefer the interface on Thunderbird. | |||||
| FreeMind | Outliner/Mind Mapping | 0.7.1 | 30/Mar/04 | Windows & Linux (Java Based) | |
| A nice little mindmapping tool which does all of the basics though it is still a little unpolished. It would be nice to have a Palm version too but better mindmapping tools are very expensive (USD60+). The data is stored in XML so it is possible to write tools to transfer and manipulate it (e.g. with ShadowPlan which I have done). There is a support forum on Sourceforge | |||||
| ImageMagick | Batch editing, conversion, etc. of images | 6.0.3 | 16/Jul/04 | Windows & Linux (Plus others from source code) | |
|
For raw power and "batchability" this is hard to beat. Also supports a great many image types. See here for some additional examples of use. Here for a load in additional information. And here for a useful tutorial. | |||||
| Audacity (used with any MIDI player) | Convert MIDI tunes to WAV/MP3 & Edit WAV/MP3 | 11/Nov/03 | Windows & Linux | ||
| Audacity is cross-platform and free and can be downloaded from SourceForge. Uses LAME for recording MP3. Also use Audacity for general waveform editing, it will even take some VST plugins. sndrec32.exe (comes with all versions of Windows) can also be used but it only seems to record a maximum of 60 seconds. In either case, use the "Volume" applet and change to recording settings and select "Stereo Out" as the sound source. Sound recorder will then record anything being played by the speakers. | |||||
| EasyPHP | Web Application Server | 1.7 | Windows (Individual apps also Linux) | ||
| Combination of Apache web server, mySQL database and PHP for Microsoft Windows. Used as the development platform for my web site. Apache 1.3.27, PHP 4.3.3, PHPmyAdmin 2.5.3, mySQL 4.0.15 NOTE: Most distributions of Linux come with these three applications ready for installation, EasyPHP is simply an easy way of managing the installation and operation under Windows. | |||||
| SWORD | Read and Study the Bible | 1.5.6 (Windows version) | 16/Jul/04 | Windows, Linux, Mac | |
| Superb free bible study software. The main version is for Windows but there are companion projects for Linux and Mac. There are many "modules" containing lots of different Bible versions, comentaries and dictionaries. | |||||
| There is commercial software as good but I'm not sure that there is anything better. | |||||
Free Linux Software
| Product | Task | Version | Last Visit | OS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inkscape | Edit SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) files | 0.3.7 | 20/Feb/04 | Linux & Windows | |
|
Inkscape is a fork of the (also free) application, Sodipodi. Simple but nice SVG vector graphics editor which is shaping up to be a powerful tool. Gives an outline, text based view of the picture as well as a graphical view making it very good for learning about SVG. | |||||
| There is a tiny SVG editor called EVE which may be worth a look. | |||||
| Plucker | Information gathering and reading | 1.6.1 | 01/Dec/03 | Palm, Windows, Linux(?) | |
| Used to view websites offline. This has now replaced iSilo since the JPluckX desktop tool has been released. This is far easier to use than the old Plucker desktop (which required Python to be installed - or was it Perl?). It can also convert RSS news feeds. It also includes a Palm tool which captures links saved from within Plucker and converts them on the next hotsync. | |||||
| LAME | Convert WAV to MP3 | 11/Nov/03 | Windows & Linux | ||
| LAME is available for several platforms including Windows. The basic application is command line only but various tools use the libraries and "Wav2MP3 Wizard" (on SourceForge) is a Windows GUI frontend for LAME. LAME is easy to use once you understand the basics of MP3 formats (there are good help files) and produces excellent quality. | |||||
| Mozilla Firefox | Web Browser | 0.9.2 | 16/Jul/04 | Windows & Linux | |
|
Fast, highly configurable open-source browser - now my default browser. Free at last from many of the security problems caused by Internet Explorer! I only use IE when I really have to now. Note the name change (again) from Firebird to Firefox. | |||||
| Firefox and Mozilla Browser share pretty much the same code now - however, I prefer the interface on Firefox. | |||||
| OpenOffice.org | Word Processing, spreadsheets, presentations | 1.1.2 | 16/Jul/04 | Windows & Linux | |
| THE office application for those not wanting to give loads of money to Microsoft. It is generally said to be comparable to Office 97; however it does have some more features and indeed some features that Microsoft Office still doesn't have. I use it when MS Office lets me down (largely because I have to use MS Office for work) but it is more than adequate for most people for all general use, no need to spend a fortune. Supports MS Office formats pretty well too. Check out the macro for creating extended PDF files. Also see this comparison of OOo and MS Word ways of working. | |||||
| The GIMP | Bitmap Image Editor | 2.0.2 | 15/Jul/04 | Windows & Linux | |
| Great graphics/image processing application. Though not quite as powerful or easy to use as Adobe, it doesn't cost UKP500! More than powerful for most use and not too tricky to use. Also get the LZW compression library (available separately due to license issues) so that GIMP can save GIF files. | |||||
| Mozilla Thunderbird | Internet Email and News | 0.7.2 | 16/Jul/04 | Windows & Linux & Mac & Others | |
| Excellent, free mail and news client. Supports multiple personalities, multiple accounts, POP3, IMAP4, NNTP. Still has one or two bugs being only at version 0.6 but is perfectly useable. Good replacement for Microsoft Outlook Express and one of the few packages worth considering as a replacement for Turnpike's multiple personality support. Support can be found in the forums. | |||||
| Thunderbird and Mozilla Mail are now pretty much the same application though I prefer the interface on Thunderbird. | |||||
| FreeMind | Outliner/Mind Mapping | 0.7.1 | 30/Mar/04 | Windows & Linux (Java Based) | |
| A nice little mindmapping tool which does all of the basics though it is still a little unpolished. It would be nice to have a Palm version too but better mindmapping tools are very expensive (USD60+). The data is stored in XML so it is possible to write tools to transfer and manipulate it (e.g. with ShadowPlan which I have done). There is a support forum on Sourceforge | |||||
| ImageMagick | Batch editing, conversion, etc. of images | 6.0.3 | 16/Jul/04 | Windows & Linux (Plus others from source code) | |
|
For raw power and "batchability" this is hard to beat. Also supports a great many image types. See here for some additional examples of use. Here for a load in additional information. And here for a useful tutorial. | |||||
| Audacity (used with any MIDI player) | Convert MIDI tunes to WAV/MP3 & Edit WAV/MP3 | 11/Nov/03 | Windows & Linux | ||
| Audacity is cross-platform and free and can be downloaded from SourceForge. Uses LAME for recording MP3. Also use Audacity for general waveform editing, it will even take some VST plugins. sndrec32.exe (comes with all versions of Windows) can also be used but it only seems to record a maximum of 60 seconds. In either case, use the "Volume" applet and change to recording settings and select "Stereo Out" as the sound source. Sound recorder will then record anything being played by the speakers. | |||||
| EasyPHP | Web Application Server | 1.7 | Windows (Individual apps also Linux) | ||
| Combination of Apache web server, mySQL database and PHP for Microsoft Windows. Used as the development platform for my web site. Apache 1.3.27, PHP 4.3.3, PHPmyAdmin 2.5.3, mySQL 4.0.15 NOTE: Most distributions of Linux come with these three applications ready for installation, EasyPHP is simply an easy way of managing the installation and operation under Windows. | |||||
| SWORD | Read and Study the Bible | 1.5.6 (Windows version) | 16/Jul/04 | Windows, Linux, Mac | |
| Superb free bible study software. The main version is for Windows but there are companion projects for Linux and Mac. There are many "modules" containing lots of different Bible versions, comentaries and dictionaries. | |||||
| There is commercial software as good but I'm not sure that there is anything better. | |||||
Free Palm Software
| Product | Task | Version | Last Visit | OS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gridlock | Prevent access to Palm memory | 1.26 Free | 23/Aug/03 | Palm | |
| Great and simple method of locking and unlocking the Palm using an on-screen pattern rather than a password. Data in memory is protected as the only way to get past the protection is by a hard-reset to get past so clearing all internal data not on ROM or memory card. WARNING: Does not protect data on memory cards or in ROM. | |||||
| SwitchDash | Force applications to use hi-res | Palm | |||
| Forces low-res apps into hi-res. | |||||
| X-Master | Run Palm Hacks | Palm | |||
| More stable alternative to Hackmaster. Used to run hacks | |||||
| Hackmaster (the original but far from the best, not updated in a very long time) | |||||
| Plucker | Information gathering and reading | 1.6.1 | 01/Dec/03 | Palm, Windows, Linux(?) | |
| Used to view websites offline. This has now replaced iSilo since the JPluckX desktop tool has been released. This is far easier to use than the old Plucker desktop (which required Python to be installed - or was it Perl?). It can also convert RSS news feeds. It also includes a Palm tool which captures links saved from within Plucker and converts them on the next hotsync. | |||||
| PalmReader | Reading eBooks | 2.5.3 | 16/Jun/04 | Palm, Windows, Mac, PocketPC | |
Supported on Palm, Pocket PC, Mac and Windows it has a good range of books available and seems a lot faster than its main rival MobiPocket. The other rival is Adobe Acrobat which is a more widely supported format and whose security can be broken so you can back up the books that you have paid for - however, perhaps for that reason, there are not so many books available. I've found that I am quite happy with reading books on the Palm and it means that I no longer need to upset my wife with yet more books to store somewhere!< Cleverly, PalmReader uses the number of the credit card you used to buy the book as the code to open it (you can change it later online and re-download if you want to). This means that you can read it on ANY number of devices and even lend it out - assuming you trust the person!Note: It is not supported directly under Linux but can supposedly be run using WINE. This again highlights the limitations of eBooks. | |||||
| MobiPocket, Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Reader. MS Reader is MS ONLY and therefore VERY HIGH RISK as a platform for the longest term. Acrobat is probably the best bet for very long term but is poorly supported, possibly because of its security limitations (it is possible to bypass the security). MobiPocket has the widest platform support (PalmOS, Windows CE, PocketPC, SymbianOs, Franklin eBookMan and Windows as at Jun/2004). However there is no free version. It does allow annotation and allows customisation (fonts, etc.) but you can only read your books on up to three devices!! You have to change the "pid" online so you are totally reliant on the web site where you purchased the book for future use. OK, I had a response from an anonymous source about MobiPocket. Here is the email and my responses (in red): In the following page (http://www.knightnet.org.uk/IT/software/free-software.htm), you say that Mobipocket Reader does not exists as free version. I invite your webmaster to go and read carefully the pages listed below, and update your website. http://www.mobipocket.com/en/DownloadSoft/DownLoadReaderStep1.asp http://www.mobipocket.com/en/Support/KBase_article.asp?ArticleID=331 http://www.mobipocket.com/en/Support/KBase_article.asp?ArticleID=26 [JK] Thanks for the info, it is a shame that this information is so well hidden! Moreover, there are more eBooks in Mobipocket format than in Peanut format.[JK] As I acknowledge. Publishers now publish and sell nearly only in Mobipocket format.[JK] Nonsense! There are many thousands of books being published in eReader format. Last but not least, the Palm encryption does not work with the widely used "e-credit-cart" system, where you ask your bank to give you a temporary credit card number for one purchase (because you do not trust the payment system). [JK] Actually it does as the downloaded eBook simply requires the credit card number, it's only a number nothing more. [JK] Your comments still do not get round the fact that you are TOTALLY dependent on the originating web site continuing to operate should you ever change devices more than twice -- this is appalling! I have books that I still re-read after 30-odd years and may well pass to my children, will the originating web site for an eBook still be operating the same system in 30 or 100 years time? I think not. At least with eReader books, I can note the number and pass it on. [JK] Of course, the software probably wont exist in 30-100 years anyway and this is why I will only EVER by low cost books this way, I'll never pay full price for a book in electronic format until I can be sure that it will still be available to me in 30 years time. [JK] Many thanks for your comments though, Jules. | |||||
Page: Updated 2008-07-10 08:50:08, Author Julian Knight