Many good softwares are either too costly or simply unaffordable, but that does not mean every good software out there requires you to shell out absurd amounts of money. There are 100s and 1000s of softwares that are completely free and perform as good as if not better than their paid counterparts.
This is the 700th post for us and we thought to make it worthwhile for you. In this post we will look at more than 35 amazing softwares that can be used for different purposes and are absolutely free to use. These softwares provide you solutions that make your computing life much better without costing you a penny.
Productivity Suites
OpenOffice.org
One of the best alternatives available for Microsoft Office Suite, OpenOffice.org has not only received several awards and accolades, it is one of the best alternatives to managing your document, spreadsheets, presentations and more.
With Open Office you can do everything you can with Microsoft Office and with the software being open source you can expect 100s and 1000s of cool software engineers contributing to make it better.
Download OpenOffice.org | Learn more about OpenOffice.org
Other worthwhile mentions
Thunderbird
Maintaining several email accounts in a single place has always been a forte associated with Microsoft Outlook.Thunderbird on the other hand is a alternative which is as good as Outlook if not better, providing you with the many of the same features to manage multiple email accounts at no cost at all.
Thunderbird lets you manage your POP and IMAP accounts with ease. Thunderbird also allows you to extend the basic functionality by allowing you to add useful add-ons and extensions making it just too good to resist.
Download Thunderbird | Learn more about Thunderbird
Dia
A good software is always conceptualized by defining the exact way in which it should work with process diagrams and flowcharts. If you have been paying out of your pocket for Microsoft Visio it is high time you switched to Dia a open source software that allows you to create structured diagrams and flowcharts for free.
Download Dia for Windows | Learn more about Dia
Sunbird
Though not one of the most talked about product, Sunbird definitely is a great alternative to managing your appointments and events without having to use Microsoft Outlook.
And if you would frown about having to use two different applications to manage emails and calendars you should definitely try out Lightning that combines Thunderbird with Sunbird to create a great productivity application.
Download and learn more about Sunbird
Browsers, Instant Messengers, Remote File Management, Shell and Linux Emulation
Firefox
Firefox is not only the best open source browser available today, it also provides you with a much safer and faster browsing experience. It is really much better than Internet Explorer and not many would say otherwise.
Well if you have been reading us for sometime you may already know how much we love Firefox.
Download Firefox 3 | Learn more about Firefox
Other worthwhile mentions
Digsby
Digsby is much more than just a just a multi-protocol IM client. With Digsby you can communicate with your friends over AIM, Yahoo, MSN, GTalk and more without having to install separate clients, as well as check your emails from multiple providers.
If that was not enough you can also use Digsby to update your social networking statues in Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.
Download Digsby | Learn more about Digsby
Other worthwhile mentions
WinSCP
Remote file management is always a challenge and though there are several softwares out there our preferred one isWinSCP, a incredible and versatile software that makes file management quite a breeze.
WinSCP is not only allows you to transfer files but they do it by providing you a way to securely do them, using the SFTP protocol instead of the regular FTP protocol.
Download WinSCP | Learn more about WinSCP
Other worthwhile mentions
uTorrent
If you are looking to download files using torrents, look no farther than uTorrent, one of the best softwares to manage torrents. Not only is it lightweight it also can be managed using the browser by accessing the uTorrent site and the best part is it runs out of the box without requiring any installations.
Download uTorrent | Learn more about uTorrent
Other worthwhile mentions
Free Download Manager
Managing your downloads with browsers have never been that easy and download managers definitely allow you to download files in a much better way. Free Download Manager allows you to download files from multiple sources, accelerating your download process, along with allowing you to pause and resume them.
Free Download Manager makes your download management much better and also comes with inbuilt support to download torrent files.
Download Free Download Manager | Learn more about Free Download Manager
Other worthwhile mentions
Related: Top 3 free Internet Download Accelerators
Putty
Ever wanted to manage Linux servers from your Windows machine using shell. Putty is one of the best way to access shell environment. As far as we know there is not competition to Putty.
If you have been using Putty, don’t forget to check out how you can manage your putty sessions in a database and work in a tabbed interface or minimize it to a tray so that you are not overwhelmed with the number of open windows.
Download Putty | Learn more about Putty
Cygwin
Ever wanted to emulate a Linux system on your Windows PC or just wanted to practice few skills before you actually installed Linux as you main system? Cygwin is one of the best Linux emulator you will ever find using which you can get your hands dirty without worrying about screwing up a actual operating system.
Download Cygwin | Installation Instructions | Learn more about Cygwin
System Management, File Management, System Maintenance, Anti-virus, Anti-spyware and Firewalls
Having paid for a software like Windows does not mean that you get the best of everything, there are several pieces of softwares that help you maintain your system so that it runs properly for a long time and is optimized to the T.
AVG Free Anti-virus
Symantec no doubt has a huge market in the anti-virus industry with Norton, with support from computer manufacturers who bundle the trial version of Norton in factory shipped desktops and laptops, that obliviously does not mean it is the best.
Norton has had huge complaints of considerably slowing down PCs and using considerable system resources. AVGon the other hand is a real good alternative which is free and does not tax you system as much as Norton does. The latest version of AVG also comes with several new features such as Anti-spyware, Anti-rootkit and more.
Download AVG 8 | Learn more about AVG
Other worthwhile mentions
Related: Tips to stay safe on the Internet
CCleaner
Your PC accumulates several temporary files and traces that are not useful to you. These temporary files and traces slows down the PC along with taking up unwanted disk space.
CCleaner is a cleaning robot for your computer, which is smart enough to know which places to look for unwanted files and traces. CCleaner can also cleanup several applications along cleaning temporary and unwanted files created by Windows.
Download CCleaner | Learn more about CCleaner
Defraggler
Your PC is not the smartest thing in the world and it has a tendency to spread fragments of files all over the place.Defraggler allows you to sort out the mess and make your PC run faster and much better. The good thing about defraggler is that it allows you to choose the files you want to defrag making the process much more easier and faster.
Download Defraggler | Learn more about Defraggler
Comodo Firewall Pro
Windows inbuilt Firewall is good but not really one of the best things around, there are several alternatives which you can definitely try out but our personal favorite is Comodo which packs in all the features of a professional version as a free software.
Download Comodo Firewall Pro | Learn more about Comodo Firewall Pro
Other worthwhile mentions
Recuva
“Oops I deleted that important file” is a statement many users have right after using Shift + Delete option for a file.If you thought that you could never recover the deleted file you are in for a surprise. There are several softwares that will allow you to recover deleted files.
Recuva is one of the best alternative that is available today, not only is it very reliable, you will not have to spend a penny for it as it is completely free.
Download Recuva | Learn more about Recuva
Imaging Tools, Graphics, 3D Software, Image Managers
Gimp
Gimp is undoubtedly the best alternative available for Photoshop. Edit your images with ease without having to worry about paying a fortune for Photoshop. Gimp also can be used in conjunction with plugins bringing a host of new features to the core software.
Download Gimp | Learn more about Gimp
Other worthwhile mentions
Related: Online Image Tools
Blender
Creating 3D applications is not that easy but even more harder is spending thousands of dollars to get a software that allows you to create 3D animations.
Blender is a great application to work with 3D modeling with a great interface at a unmatchable price, Free.
Download Blender | Learn more about Blender
Picasa
Picasa is definitely one of the best tools available for managing your photos. With Picasa you can import your pictures from your camera and edit them to change contrast, remove red eyes and more. You can also upload your pictures to your online album and share them with family and friends without having to upload each and every file individually.
Download Picasa | Learn more about Picasa
Other worthwhile mentions
Video Softwares, Audio Softwares, 3D Softwares
VLC Player
VLC Player is one of the best video softwares available to view different files and formats. VLC player supports multiple codecs out of the the box allowing you to play almost all kinds of file formats without having to install any additional softwares or codecs.
Download VLC Player | Learn more about VLC Player
Miro
Miro allows you to convert your PC into a Internet TV. You can use it to watch Internet video channels and play any video file. You can play files from YouTube and more and you can play almost any types of file with it including HD videos.
Download Miro | Learn more about Miro
PicLens
PicLens is a Firefox add-on that transforms your browser into full screen 3D browser allowing you to browse images and videos in full screen.
Learn more and download PicLens
Audacity
Audacity is one of the best free tools available for audio editing and recording for several operating systems.
You can record live audio, convert tapes into digital recordings, cut, copy, splice or mix sounds together and more.
Download Audacity | Learn more about Audacity
Development Tools, Editors
Eclipse
Eclipse is one of the best development IDE available for building robust enterprise applications, embedded software development and more with support for several languages.
The Eclipse project has been supported by several well know companies and also has a very large open source community to help develop and test the product.
Learn more and download Eclipse
Other worthwhile mentions
Notepad++
Notepad++ is not just a mere notepad replacement, it will allow you to modify several file types and has been getting better by the day with new features like auto complete and more.
If you are stuck with notepad this is definitely one software you should give a try.
Learn more and download Notepad++
Other worthwhile mentions
CD / DVD Writing Softwares, DVD Ripping, Virtual CD / DVD
Handbrake
Handbrake is a DVD Ripper that will allow you to rip DVD files and convert them to MPEG-4 format for Mac OS, Linux and Windows.
Download and learn more about Handbrake
CDBurnerXP
CDBurnerXP is a free application to burn CDs and DVDs, including Blu-Ray and HD-DVDs. It also includes the feature to burn and create ISOs, as well as a multilanguage interface.
Download CDBurnerXP | Learn more about CDBurnerXP
MagicDisc
Several softwares and games can be downloaded as image files like ISO, BIN etc. If you do not have a CD / DVD writer those files may be practically useless to you. With MagicDisc you can easily mount those image files as Virtual CD / DVDs and install the software, copy them and do more.
Download MagicDisc | Learn more about MagicDisc
Related: How to mount Image files as a virtual CD / DVD Rom
Utilities
Foxit PDF Reader
Foxit PDF Reader is no doubt one of the best alternative to the Adobe PDF reader. It is much more faster and robust than the reader provided by Adobe.
There are several features that you make you completely ditch Adobe PDF reader, if you have not already done that.
Download Foxit PDF Reader | Learn more about Foxit PDF Reader
7Zip
7Zip is one of the best open source software which allows you to manage several types of archives with simplicity and ease. 7Zip supports all the popular archive formats such as zip, rar, gzip, tar and more.
It is by far a much better alternative to the dominating WinZip and WinRar softwares that require you to purchase licenses.
xPlorer2 Lite
Windows explorer is definitely not the best to manage files, with you have to open several windows just to perform a simple task of copying and pasting files.
xPlorer2 Lite is a very handy utility when it comes to managing files in Windows. The tabbed interface saves you lot of times and hassles simplifying the task of managing files.
Download xPlorer2 Lite | Learn more about xPlorer2 Lite
Related: Windows Explorer Replacements
Launchy
Loading applications has never been more easier than it is with Launchy. This is probably one of the best software that makes your life much more easier when it comes to opening applications without having to go through the pain of creating a desktop shortcut or searching for them.
Download and learn more about Launchy
Google Desktop
If you thought Google only worked online then you are in for a surprise. Google Desktop is one of the best indexing and desktop search tools for your PC with results as accurate as their web based search.
With Google Desktop Search you can search your files, emails, chat conversations and more. The handy sidebar also allows you to add gadgets so that you can access information quickly and easily.
Download and learn more about Google Desktop
Windows Live Writer
One of the best tools to manage your blogs offline, Windows Live Writer has grown to become one of the most loved applications from Microsoft.
You can manage multiple weblogs and post to them with ease, save drafts online and offline, edit images, add watermarks to them and more.
Download and learn more about Windows Live Writer
Summarizing
This list is not exhaustive and there may be several softwares we may have missed. Your contribution can make it more better for others to find the best softwares, please feel free to add in your choices in the comments.
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