Cool Free Stuff

December 21, 2004 (Computerworld) Yes, there is such a thing as a free lunch -- at least when it comes to software. Not every piece of freeware is of value, of course, but over the years, we've found some real gems.

Here, Computerworld reporters, editors, developers and IT staff share our favorite no-cost software downloads. From graphics applications to utilities to fun stuff -- whether you run Windows, Linux or Mac -- there's surely something here you'll want to try!

Graphics


Application: Irfanview

What it is: Lightweight image viewer/manipulator

Why we like it: Small, free, fast. Allows cropping, scaling and color adjustment. Has a slide-show function, a "Set as Wallpaper" function and a nice screen-capture utility built in.

Platform: Windows

Where to get it: www.irfanview.com

Recommended by: Peter Smith, lead developer



Application: Easy Thumbnails

What it is: Batch resizer of graphics files

Why we like it: Lots of software can resize a photo -- and if you want to crop, remove red eye or otherwise fiddle with an image, this isn't the application for you. But if all you want to do is resize a dozen or two holiday photos to post on the Web, this is definitely worth a download. Easy Thumbnails does one thing and one thing only, but it's simple, quick and pain-free.

Platform: Windows

Where to get it: www.fookes.com/ezthumbs

Recommended by: Sharon Machlis, online managing editor



Utilities


Application: Google's Desktop Search

What it is: It searches Web pages, Outlook and Microsoft Office files, saved AOL instant messages and text files on a local hard drive.

Why we like it: It's vastly better than the search tool in Microsoft Windows. It's very fast and gives detailed results in a format similar to Google's Internet search engine. Thumbnails of Web pages are shown. It can be used to delete files. A major limit is its inability to search Lotus Notes. There's probably some nasty security risk involved in using this tool (in fact, we published an article about one yesterday [see story]), but for now it's well worth the free download.

Platform: Windows

Where to get it: desktop.google.com

Recommended by: Patrick Thibodeau, senior editor



Application: MenuMeters 1.2

What it is: Preference pane for Mac OS X

Why we like it: MenuMeters places icons that give Mac OS X users information on how their computers are working. It shows disk activity, network traffic and throughput, memory use, paging activity and CPU use. The icons can be stylized to fit your Menu bar and can be reordered, allowing Macintosh users to monitor how their computers are doing at a glance.

Platform: Macintosh OS X 10.2 or later

Where to get it: www.ragingmenace.com/software/menumeters

Recommended by: Ken Mingis, online news editor



Application: Temperature Monitor 2.3

What it is: Internal temperature tracker for most recent Apple Computer Inc. computers

Why we like it: Temperature Monitor shows the current processor temperature for some Macintosh computers. The temperature can be displayed in several formats and styles, including in a standard window, in the Dock or as a "floating" transparent window. It also offers a "talking" thermometer that will speak the current temperature whenever it changes. Keep track of just how hot those processors are getting.

Platform: Mac OS X 10.2.5 or later

Where to get it: www.bresink.de/osx/TemperatureMonitor.html

Recommended by: Ken Mingis, online news editor



Next page: Spam and Spyware, Text and Web apps


Spam and Spyware


Application: Spybot Search and Destroy

What it is: Software to clean up the spyware that gets downloaded to your PC

Why we like it: "Search and Destroy scrapes bothersome software from your PC as you would barnacles from the underside of a boat," says our sister publication PC World, naming it a "best product of 2004."

Platform: Windows

Where to get it: www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,22262,00.asp

Recommended by: Gary H. Anthes, national correspondent



Application: POPFile

What it is: Spam filter

Why we like it: This isn't a plug-and-play product. That said, though, it's easy enough to install and configure, and it's a nice choice if you want to have some control over what your filter does as well as see what it's doing from time to time.

Platform: Any system that runs Perl, and a POP3 mail client and account.

Where to get it: getpopfile.org

Recommended by: Sharon Machlis, online managing editor



Text


Application: NoteTab

What it is: Text editor with scripting capabilities

Why we like it: It's as basic as you need it to be or as complex as you want to make it. NoteTab includes some very useful built-in capabilities, including joining lines that have been broken by hard returns and stripping out HTML tags or > characters from forwarded e-mail text.

NoteTab's scripting language has a bit of a learning curve, but you can use it in combination with Perl scripts for some pretty sophisticated text manipulation -- all while generating pure ASCII, so no worries about strange characters being added (like with Microsoft Word). Note Tab Light is free, but if you spring for the $19.95 Pro version, you'll get colored highlighting of HTML tags, faster "replace all" commands in multiple opened documents, spell checking and more added goodies.

Platform: Windows

Where to get it: http://www.notetab.com

Recommended by: Sharon Machlis, online managing editor



Web


Application: Bricolage

What it is: Web site content management software

Why we like it: Managing the many objects and pages on a Web site is incredibly complex. Most of the software available is proprietary and expensive. Bricolage is, of course, free, yet it's sophisticated enough to power large, active sites. It doesn't have everything for everyone. But it has enough for most Web sites. The software is supported by San Francisco-based Kineticode Inc., which was founded by David Wheeler, Bricolage's author.

Platform: Linux, FreeBSD, Mac OS X

Where to get it: www.bricolage.cc

Recommended by: Mark Hall, editor at large/columnist



Application: Firefox

What is is: Web browser

Why we like it: Tabbed browsing, neat Find function, Extensions and Themes, built-in pop-up browser and few (none?) of the vulnerabilities of Internet Explorer.

Platform: Windows, Mac OS X, Linux

Where to get it: www.mozilla.org/firefox

Recommended by: Peter Smith, lead developer



Application: Gallery

What it is: Software for posting photos online

Why we like it: There are a number of open-source programs out there to let you post photos on your own Web site. But Gallery makes it easy for you to allow others to add their photos, too -- great if you volunteer to help run a school, club or similar type of Web site.

Platform: Web server or host running PHP 4 not in safe mode, and either NetPBM or ImageMagick installed.

Where to get it: gallery.menalto.com

Recommended by: Sharon Machlis, online managing editor

Alternate suggestion: A friend swears by Coppermine, which requires PHP, MySQL and GD lib or Image Magick.



Application: WordPress

What it is: Blog software

Why we like it: Easy installation, PHP and MySQL based for easy "hacking," fully Web standard-compliant output. Fast and fun to use. A nice support network.

Platform: Web server with PHP and MySQL

Where to get it: www.wordpress.org

Recommended by: Peter Smith, lead developer



Next page: Games, Misc.


Recreation: Games, etc.


Application: Goban

What it is: Go board and opponent

Why we like it: An integrated and free environment for playing Go. Play against a computer opponent (based on GnuGO), on Internet Go Servers or download an .sgf file and explore variations on your games or those of others. Aesthetically very pleasing as well.

Platform: Mac OS X

Where to get it: www.sente.ch/software/goban

(Windows and Linux users can visit www.pandanet.co.jp/English/glgo/ to get glGO, which is a graphical front end for GnuGo that runs on those systems.)

Recommended by: Peter Smith, lead developer



Application: Poker Tournament Timer

What it is: Open-source tournament clock

Why we like it: Simple way for all players in a Texas Hold 'Em poker game to see how much time is left in a game.

Platform: Windows, Mac OS X, Linux

Where to get it: www.bacman.net/apps/poker

Recommended by: Stu Needels, senior systems manager



Misc.


Application: Skype

What it is: Free Internet telephony from your PC

Why we like it: This is the sole listed application that the recommender doesn't use himself, but made the list for being "one of those disruptive technologies that has everybody talking." Free Skype works only from a microphone-equipped computer with audio capability, although you can pay to use it with a phone (1.7 cents per minute in the U.S. except Alaska and Hawaii, as well as wired phones in some international destinations).

Platform: Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Pocket PC

Where to get it: www.skype.com

Recommended by: Matt Hamblen, senior writer