Slashdot Mirror

On Window's there is so much software out there for each and every task that even hardened geeks sometimes install crapware just to see if it's worthy.

My advice is install Total Uninstall, an install monitor that scans your system both before and after and install and allows you to reverse ALL the changes. ...then experiment with all the software you like, use your judgement, go on it's fun.

You might like to checkout websites like Pricelessware and similar pages (the top 4 are good) for freeware. Also remember alot of Linux favourites (like GIMP and Inkscape) are available for Windows.

I've found great stuff from here, not necessarily open source though.

http://searchlores.org/bangla.htm

And of course, the Pricelessware.

http://www.pricelessware.org/

Does this do the same thing as www.pricelessware.org???

'Cause if you're talking freeware, just go to alt.comp.freeware and ask for a list. People there will point you to the Pricelessware List.

There's tons of freeware out there that doesn't include spyware of any kind.

in this order . .
http://nonags.com/
http://www.pricelessware.org/thelist/index.htm
http://www.doom9.org/ (click on the download button on the left)
http://theopencd.sunsite.dk/
http://www.komando.com/shareware_index.asp
http://www.techsupportalert.com/best.htm

Do I need to mention sourceforge and freshmeat?

Not sure if http://skype.com/ is listed in the above lists - it is surely worth mentioning but sometimes requires a USB headset purchase to tweak it, which is well worth the expense since this software often rivals Vonage service in quality when calling pots lines (non-free) and blows away anything when calling pc to pc (free).

http://grouper.com/

http://www.ultravnc.com/ is almost always my preference over tightvnc.

Realplayer is not that bad if it is tweaked - you have to look for the setting that disables automatic ownership of filetypes.

http://kerio.com/ is my firewall preference over ZoneAlarm and Sygate, although the windows xp built-in is is usable. Kerio keeps an eye on changing files via an md5 hash.

http://grisoft.com/, in most cases, would be my recommendation for AV software.

http://www.apple.com/itunes/ is great if you have the connection for it.

And if you want more free software then download emule.

um uh . . erase that last line

Horribly outdated. Firefox listed as v. 0.9.1.

Installed on my computer right now are:

Avast! Antivirus
OpenOffice
Ad-Aware
Audacity
Azureus
CDex
ExplorerXP
FeedReader
Gaim
Mozilla
Spybot S&D
Tweak UI
TightVNC
OpenSSL
MP3Gain
PowerMenu

All of those programs are truly free with no spyware or nag screens.


When I'm looking for new programs, I go to:
TinyApps.org
Pricelessware
SourceForge
In that order.

> www.pricelessware.org?

Or Nonags?

Try also http://www.pricelessware.org/ which is run by folk from alt.comp.freeware where they list their best rated several programs in various categories.

I use it a lot.

Also, linux projects that support windows and linux don't count ;)

Allright, then they don't count for Linux either, right? No GIMP, no OpenOffice, etc ;)

For starters, pricelessware is a great resource. There's also a LOT of stuff up on Download.com.

Besides drivers I install:
I try to only install freeware, check out THE best freeware site that exists: www.pricelessware.org

1) Startup Monitor - Catch programs trying to add to your startup
2) Zip Genius - freeware unzipper
3) Mozilla
4) TextPad and gVim - freeware txt editors
5) Java SDK
6) iTunes, WinAmp and Nero - for music
7) Symantic Anti-Virus - free through work...
8) WinDvD - no good freeware out there :(
9) OpenOffice
10) NETHACK! and other games...

PricelessWare is better. Actually, I think that's the best site for Windows freeware on the web - everything is reviewed.

My favourite freeware site is:
http://www.pricelessware.org/
Selected by readers from the alt.freeware newsgroup.

http://www.tinyapps.org/ - I've had some good luck here too.

It's recommended as Pricelessware by alt.comp.freeware, which means no nasty spyware or adware.

I've tried a good deal of the stuff listed. The following are the most intuitive, free, software products I have encountered. They increase productivity, and are stable.

Freeware List: If you can think of it, it's in here.
OpenCD: Precompiled CD with all open source software.
Doom9.org: Famed site for lots of media tools.
Trillian: AIM, ICQ, IRC, MSN, Yahoo! IM software all in one.
AVG Anti-Virus: Free AV
SpyBot (Spam Remover): Free Spam Remover/Search & Destroy
Firebird: Web browser w/ adblock & popup control.
FileZilla FTP: FTP Client
Smart FTP: Free Client, better looking, faster
Kerio: Personal Firewall, better than ZoneAlarm
Textpad: Text Editor.
PuTTY: SSH Client.
CygWin: Linux emulation.
FFDshow: DivX/XVid decoder.
TweakUI: Microsoft's famed Powertoy for Windows XP.
WinAce: Fast, high-compression (40% smaller, faster compression than ZIP).
WinAmp: MP3 player, with this skin.
dBpowerAMP: Music Converter (copies CDs to MP3)

One last thing, don't use Outlook. Find a better program: Eudora, Thunderbird, or PegasusMail (in that order) are safer/more powerful. Windows comes bundled with great software, just like Mandrake - but their internet package leaves much (security) to be desired.

Although others have said Mozilla as a web browser, I feel that it's too bloated and slow. Try K-Meleon or Opera instead.
CDEx is a great open-source program for ripping your legally-owned CD-audio tracks. Rip them to OGG and feel your 1337ness potential expand.
Try using ZINF instead of WinAmp (bloatware ... I haven't cared for WinAmp since early 2.x) for your sound-playing abilities. The skinning abilites are also a lot better on ZINF, plus it supports more formats than WinAmp does.
If you're not looking at getting the entire OpenOffice.org suite, you can get just AbiWord, which is a great word-processing program. OpenOffice.org, however, is really full-featured and I would say almost a must.
People have already mentioned the free anti-virus software from AVG, but it doesn't hurt to have backups, such as the free online scan from Trend Micro.
As someone else also mentioned, ZoneAlarm is also a great thing to have.
Trillian and/or GAIM are great instant-messaging.

Taking a look through SourceForge and Pricelessware are great places to go and explore on your own as well.

Go to the Pricelessware site maintained by the alt.comp.freeware Usenet group. On the group, they post and evalute freeware, and the winners make it on to the pricelessware list. Nagware, adware and shareware are frowned upon; the vast majority of the programs listed are no-strings freeware.

Why not just use a good free zipping program?

> Whenever I need a program/tool, the first places I look are TinyApps (very small software for Windows), and Tucows.

I suggest you also look at Pricelessware.

"The Pricelessware List reflects the programs favored by members of the newsgroup alt.comp.freeware ; it is not an exhaustive list of the best available Freeware. Most of the listings are well-known programs, but there are some hard-to-find goodies to be discovered."