Description: a reader sent an email to ask about a list of “ten must-have” free programs that I would recommend that everyone immediately download and install on their computers, and this is one I have come up with. These 10 are to be the first installment (part 1), with additional “must have” freeware program lists to be amended to this one. Check this list out, download and install - these programs are solid gold.

When creating this list I kept my focus on general use programs that everyone might need rather than specialized programs that have a smaller audience. I thought about programs that I always will install on all my computers no matter what, but also about lesser know programs that are not the typical freeware lists keep instinctively repeating (e.g. OpenOffice, Audacity, GIMP, Paint.Net, VLC, Firefox, CCleaner, etc.)

Want to share your own lesser known top-10 “must have” freeware list? Please do so in the comment section!

The list :

1. Everything: lightning-fast free desktop search for files and folders.
2. Digsby: multi-protocol free desktop IM client, email notifier for regular and web mail, and social networking tracker.
3. Returnil: a free virtualization software that provides an “undo” option for your system.
4. Q-Dir: a multi-pane free file manager that offers a good range of functions and an excellent user experience.
5. Launchy: free search-box based launcher for your apps and files.
6. The KMPlayer: media and DVD player that is feature rich and will play anything you throw at it.
7. Threatfire: free, effective antispyware that offers real-time protection and behavior based (heuristic) detection of malicious software.
8. ArsClip: free, feature rich clipboard manager with hotkey-access from any application. Can store “permanent” clips for frequently used items.
9. Xobni: free Outlook extension that provides superfast searches in Outlook and threaded conversations.
10. 3RVX: free hotkey and mouse enabled volume control with cool visual effects.

Descriptions, screenshots and mini-reviews provided below.

Read more »

Description: WindowsPager is a free program that adds four virtual desktops/workspaces to your desktop. It integrates the new workspaces as icons in your taskbar and allows for managing your open windows through the right click context menu. WindowsPager is a portable app with very light resource consumption.

A virtual desktop, for those who might not know, is simply a desktop view that displays only certain open windows that the user selects (while other open windows for example for other programs are displayed separately in another workspace). This means that you can collect all windows for all programs/files that belong to a certain project together in a virtual desktop without any non-related windows showing in the same place, or you can relegate an app or apps (say your email client) to a desktop and leave it open without having to have it clutter the workspace that you may be currently working with. More info on the definition of a virtual desktop on Wikipedia.

I’ve seen many free virtual desktop programs but WindowsPager is noteworthy because of the combination of its simplicity and functionality. This program may lack some of the bells and whistles that many virtual desktop programs (e.g. different wallpapers for each desktop, 3D visual effects when changing desktops), nonetheless I believe that the combination of functions that it does offer are exactly what many practically-minded users (such as myself) have been looking for. Here are more notes on this one:

• Management of windows using the right-click context menu: employs an extremely intuitive way to send windows back and forth across virtual desktops; simply right click on any window and select the desktop you would like the window to appear on. Simple and practical.
• Virtual desktop icons in the taskbar: which in practice makes a lot of sense and works very well. You can enlarge the virtual desktop buttons or make them smaller by resizing the taskbar.
• Portable: unzip and run, no install needed. Does not require admin privileges to run.
• Set a window as “always visible” and/or “on top”: you can right click on any window and make it visible in all virtual desktops, very useful for apps such as instant messengers that you may want to always be able to interact with regardless of which desktop you’re looking at. Another option: keep window always on top. Read more »
  

Description: “I made this. You play this. We are enemies” is a free flash platform game where the objective is to navigate a ball across different maze-like levels. It is the sequel to a previously mentioned game called “Game, game, game and again game“. Like it’s predecessor, “I made this” is not just a game but an artistic vehicle, an exercise in creative expression that uses the gaming format as its medium.

The game’s subject matter: this, as stated in the game itself, would be the “Appalachian-style battle between the game maker and the game player, the artist and those wanky enough to like art, the poet and those that sing-song themselves through bittery selfish sexual whatnots”. In other words, a struggle of epic proportions between the game maker and his/her audience. Except it doesn’t seem like a struggle at all; in fact having played this I can report that what I like the most about it is mainly the interactive visual experience, the rush of colors, text, and illustrations (and adrenalin!) that comes with playing/exploring this game.

The game’s subject matter revisited: the author has taken some very familiar (and unfamiliar) web sites and used these as interactive settings in the game itself, so there’s a satirical element taking place there as well (and a vision of what it would look like if graffiti artists could practice their craft on websites). A list of these sites follows (which I quote from the game itself):

Read more »

Description: this posting will outline a number of options for converting a PowerPoint presentation to DVD using all free software. There is not a single free application that will accomplish this; however there are three “routes” illustrated below that you could take to achieve PowerPoint to DVD conversion using all free apps. Here’s a quick summary:

• PowerPoint to video to DVD: using “EM PowerPoint to Video Converter Free” (PPT to AVI), then doing the DVD authoring using DVD Flick (AVI to DVD).
• PowerPoint to Flash SWF to AVI to DVD: using iSpring Converter Free (PPT to SWF); then using either SWF2AVI or CamStudio (SWF to AVI), and finally DVD Flick (AVI to DVD).
• PowerPoint to JPEG to DVD: using PowerPoint Image Copier (PPT to JPG) then authoring a DVD slideshow using DVD Slideshow GUI (JPG to DVD).

Notes:

• All of the methods described here require that PowerPoint be installed on your machine.
• While I use PPT to refer to PowerPoint files you could in fact convert any PowerPoint file extension that your version of PowerPoint supports (e.g. PPS, or PPTS, PPTM, etc. if using PowerPoint 2007).
• It took a while to research and write this post so if you like this post please Digg or Stumble it.

I am going to segment the process of converting a PowerPoint file into 2 parts: (1) capturing the visual part of the presentation, and (2) packaging it into a DVD.

Read more »

Description: Open++ is a free program that allows you to install functions in the Windows’ context menu extension. You can choose from a number of built-in functions or otherwise use any command line executable to add custom commands that can work on folders, specific file type(s) or both.

If you look at the screenshot for Open++ at first glance you might think that it is yet another utility that installs a handful of functions that we’ve seen many times before in the context menu. In fact Open++ is much more versatile in that it gives you the ability to add any executable or command line program into the context menu very easily (see screenshot).

Note: if you are interested in the functions that I am using that you see in the screenshot, most are provided courtesy of NirSoft’s wonderful freeware NirCmd which I highly recommend. Here are more notes on Open++:

• Built-in functions: you can pick and choose from the following: Command Prompt, Copy Path, Run with parameters, Register/Unregister DLLs, Open/Close CD drive, and Set File Time.
• Configuring new functions: you can add functions very easily, provided you have a command line executable that you want to use in the context menu. You can tell Open++ (a) if you want this executable to appear when right-clicking folders, certain types of file(s), or both; (b) what arguments to use (provides a handy set of variables for use in arguments, see below); (c) the working directory, and (d) you can (optionally) point to an icon file that you want it to use in the context menu.
• Variables for use in arguments: for items that are being right-clicked, the program can grab the directory, filename, extension, or entire path and that can be used in your command line arguments. It also provides variables that can deliver the same info for the program/executable as well (see screenshot to the right). You can use these variables add anything extra to them that you need, such as quotes before and after for example (see screenshot to the right).
• Typing ad-hoc arguments: one nice feature that the program provides is the ability to type in the arguments you want in an ad-hoc fashion. Simply check the “prompt for arguments” box in the settings.

  Read more »

Description: Freezer is a free, portable program that can download mp3s from some song sharing sites that such as Imeem, Deezer or jiwa.fm that use anti-leeching protection to prevent song downloading.

If you are familiar with the music sharing sites mentioned above you’re probably thinking that Freezer is very good news indeed. This program was apparently written to prove a point; to quote their site “[it] was built as a proof-of-concept to demonstrate that whatever effort is made to prevent songs downloading, those sites are still very unsecure concerning the way musics are diffused”. It continues …”the [proof of concept]will probably be extended to more sites, as it is based upon an inherent flaw they all have in their streaming scheme.” More notes on this program:

• How to use: you need to (1) start the program and keep it open, (2) change your browser proxy to the one specified by the program (more on this here and below), and (3) to surf over to any of the supported sites and launch a song. A “save file” dialog will appear whenever a song is about to be played, allowing you to save (or not). More info on how to use here.
• Portable: no installation. Just unzip and run.
• Managing proxies: if changing your browser proxy manually doesn’t seem very practical, you might want to take a look at IE proxy changer or Advanced Proxy Manager (for Internet Explorer) or QuickProxy for Firefox.
• Supported sites: Imeem, Deezer, and Jiva.fm are documented; however, the instructions in the program dialog itself read “surf on your favorite HD radio site … the program will do the rest”. Not sure which other sites Freezer will work with, but I did try it with Last.FM and Pandora and it did NOT work; moreover it does not work with non-encrypted sites that do not use anti-leeching protection such as MixTurtle, Songza, etc (I guess since the program wanted top prove a point, there was no point to prove there ). Read more »
  

Description: Easeus Partition Manager Home Edition is a free disk partitioning utility that offers a powerful range of functions such as resizing drive partitions, formatting partitions, copying partitions/drives, creating new partitions, deleting partitions, hiding partitions, changing drive letters, setting active partitions, and a handful other functions.

[Update 12/4/2008] This review updated to include two new features that were added in the new Easeus Partition Manager v.3.0: copying drives and partitions.

This program makes managing or changing your hard drive partitions extremely simple and easy. The reason for this is that unlike many partition management programs that typically have to be booted into from a liveCD (e..g the excellent Gparted), Easeus Partition Manager runs from Windows, has an excellent, simple to use user interface, and (again unlike most other free partitioning software) can perform many - though not all - operations on the spot without requiring a reboot. Here are more notes on this program:

• The User Interface: is clean and intuitive. It displays your drives/partitions visually within a “disk map” that shows the status of your partitions and drives at a glance, including used vs. blank space, any unallocated space, as well as basic partition information. There is also a list of drives and partitions and all operations can be performed by simply right clicking on the drive/partition you want to change (or from the buttons on the main toolbar).
• How it works: Easeus Partition Manager provides a staging environment where you select your disk/partition edits and changes in sequence, then implement all of them at once when you’re done. Until you are ready to implement it gives you the option to undo individual steps or undo all changes if you need to.
• Supported drives: IDE, SATA, SCSI, USB removable disk, and Firewire disks are all supported. The smallest capability is 2 GB and (as of ver. 3.0) the largest is I.5 TB; supports a maximum of 32 disks.
• Performance: is simply excellent, although I say this from a purely subjective persepctive. I have performed lengthy partition resizing operations with Gparted before and Easeus Partition Manager seems to be faster, but note that I only tested it on moving 1 gig across partitions.
• Primary functions: resizing, formatting, creating, and deleting partitions. You can actually resize a partition visually in the resize dialog by grabbing onto the edge of the displayed partition and moving it (see image to the right).
  Read more »
  

Description: Tork is a free online action/adventure flash game that employs a unique gameplay concept: deciphering a symbol-based language. Specifically, this would be the language used by the alien inhabitants of a strange planet that your spaceship just crash-landed into.

In Tork (a pun on “talk”), you are a space traveler who was shipwrecked on an alien planet. Looking around, you observe the aliens on this planet doing their thing, and notice that they interact using hieroglyphic-style symbols that pop up in cartoonish bubbles next to their heads. Your mission is to figure out enough of their “language” to get your ship repaired and flying again.

In practical terms, figuring out the alien language means that you have to learn the tools that are available to you rather than the game telling you in advance. While other games will tell you what you can do (icon1= take object, icon2= inventory, icon3= use, etc.), in Tork you have to figure out what you can do as you go along. To take an object, for example, (assuming it is “take-able”) you will have to figure out what symbol if any means “take” and use that in combination with the symbol for the object you want, etc. The result is a very open-ended game where everything - may - be possible, and adds a very interesting and original dynamic to the

More notes on this game as follows:

• You are not alone: running commentary is provided by your on-board computer, which is useful and often entertaining.
• The world around you: your character flies around the alien planet using his jetpack, interacting with the environment and resident aliens. In general the game world is beautifully illustrated and atmospheric, with lots of activity happening all around.
• Symbols: you “acquire” symbols either when you witness aliens using that symbol (in conversation with you or other aliens), or when you walk into a room where there is an object that can be used or collected, inwhich case the symbol for that object will be posted on the wall.

  Read more »

Description: In this posting I am going to highlight five FREE excellent Internet Explorer extensions that you never knew existed: (1) RCGoogle, (2) IECopySelectedLinks, (3) Find as you type, (4) Favorites Search, and (5) Web Archives Viewer.

Internet Explorer may not have the breadth of plugins that exist for Firefox, but it does have many extensions that enhance its functionality and that can greatly increase your productivity. IE extensions, it seems, always have much less .. visibility .. than those for Firefox; in this posting I present to you five must-have Internet Explorer extensions which you never knew existed (but will be very happy to learn about):

1. RCGoogle: the name is misleading, as it suggests that this is yet another right-click-on-a-word-to-search-Google extension. In fact RCGoogle does offer this functionality, but what makes it cool is it’s other function: “Open selected URL”.

Occasionally you might come across URLs (such as hxxp://www.yahoo.com) that have been purposefully (or unpurposefully) distorted or changed that normally would require fixing and copy/pasting into the address box. RCGoogle allows you to simply right click on the URL (or what looks like one ) and choose “open selected URL” in the context menu to open it. It is quite powerful as it can handle a wide range of URL problems. Check out the following examples, all of which it can handle without a hitch: (http) hxxp://www.yahoo.com; (www) w*w.yahoo.com; (typos) htp://yahoo.com; (whitespaces) http://www. yahoo.com; (or a combination of the above) h**p:’/***.yahoo .com. Of course you can use RCGoogle to open non-maligned URLs as well. Works for http and ftp URLs both.

I like this program so much that I am awarding it the very sought after Freewaregenius Pick award. More info on this program here; you can download the version I tested here.

2. IECopySelectedLinks: this little extension allows you to select a bunch of text that contains links to multiple URLs, then right-click “copy selected links” to copy all links to the clipboard (the text itself will not be copied). Very cool!

Visit this page to download (286K). This software from the same developers that brought you previously reviewed IESessions.

Read more »

Description: Shock Bookmark is a free program that provides access to your favorite folders, files, internet bookmarks, and program shortcuts straight from the Windows explorer right click context menu. It also enables quick right-click copy and/or move operations to your bookmarked locations.

A quick and easy way to access your favorite folders, apps, and websites, Shock Bookmark allows you to install and launch these in your right click menu. Here are more notes on this program:

• The what: gives right-click access to files of any type, folders, program shortcuts, internet favorites.
• The where: works on the desktop or within Windows open/save dialogs
• Adding objects: simply right click on an object and select “Bookmark Add/Delete” in the Shock Bookmark context menu. This will immediately add the object to Shock Bookmark’s list or, if the object is already there, will prompt the program to ask if you want that object deleted. You can add shortcuts to files and folders and it will automatically find and bookmark the actual object, which is very useful.
• Organizing objects: you can create sub-folders and organize your bookmarks into them from the options screen; however only one folder level is supported (you cannot place folders inside other folders). You can change the order of your objects at will, which is cool. The program also allows for saving your configuration of folders and objects to a file (for backup purposes, presumably?). Read more »