Free Software Guide

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$ate "dded: 'a& ()* (++)
$ate Updated: ,n -* (++)
. recentl& ran into a dilemma when helping a friend #& a new compter. She
had #oght a compter* on m& recommendations* and all it came with was
an O/' 0ersion of 1indows 2P. O#0iosl&* . was o#ligated to hoo3 e0er&thing
p* and install all the necessar& software. 4ormall&* . wold recommend a few
commercial prodcts which . wold then #& and install* #t in this case*
#dget was tight and so . had to resort to sing onl& free software. 5o m&
srprise* what . fond was that there are so man& free alternati0es to good
software that there is reall& 0er& little need to spend a hge amont of
mone& 6or an& mone&7 and still get a secre and fll& fnctional compter.
5his gide will recommend some free software for &or compter 6not 8st
dealing with digital 0ideo7 that might 8st help &o sa0e thosands of dollars
on commercial software* or at the 0er& least pre0ent &o from #ecoming a
terrorist #& sing pirated software* so &o can concentrate on #eing a
terrorist http://www.theregister.co.3/(++9/!!/!)/gran_pirac&_lessons/ in :onter-Stri3e
instead. Onl& freeware and open sorce software will #e listed* no shareware*
trialware and whene0er possi#le* no ad-ware either.
Of corse* the ltimate method to get a compter that onl& ses free
software is to go Lin;* #t this gide will co0er 1indows 2P onl& 6and in
some e;tent* %ista7 as this is still the OS that most people se and are
familiar with. Oh* and to pla& games and st<.
Temporary Safety
So &or new compter is plgged in* &o=0e set p the "$SL or ca#le
connection and &o are read& to head online to get or free software. >t to
do this* we will ha0e to 0entre online* and this means danger. $anger from
tro8ans that sit idl& on we# pages* read& to stri3e. $anger from hac3ers
loo3ing for new compters to hac3 into. $angers from emails claiming to #e
from &or #an3 as3ing &o to immediatel& login to &or online #an3ing
accont or all &or mone& will #e gone. 5he .nternet is a scar& place for a
new compter 6and . see the iron& of ha0ing to go online to read this gide in
the ?rst place - hopefll& some#od& has printed &o a cop&* or &o ha0e
access to another secred compter7.
So the ?rst thing &o shold do* apart from disconnecting &or compter
from the .nternet* is to at the 0er& least ena#le 1indows Firewall. 1indows
Firewall comes free with 1indows 2P and a#o0e* and it is reall& the ?rst line
of defence for a new compter. " ?rewall does what it sonds li3e* to pt a
#arrier #etween &or compter and all those people and @om#ie compters
attempting to hac3 into &or s&stem. 1indows Firewall is not the #est
personal ?rewall arond - it doesn=t protect &o from ot#ond traAc for
e;ample - #t it=s there alread&* so clic3 on the BStartB #tton* go to B:ontrol
PanelB* clic3 on B1indows FirewallB and ena#le it.
Windows Firewall
Cor compter is now at least somewhat protected from the .nternet 6so plg
#ac3 that networ3 ca#le7. 1e will #e tal3ing a#ot secrit& a few steps later
in more detail 6and most li3el&* won=t #e sing 1indows Firewall to protect
orsel0es7* #t we are somewhat safe* for now.
Co shold now rn 1indows Update 6Start -D "ll Programs -D 1indows
Update7 to get &or 1indows patched p with the latest secrit& ?;es. 5here
shold #e Eite a few* and it might ta3e an hor or two* and a few s&stem
restarts* to get e0er&thing patched p. $on=t s3ip this step thogh* #ecase
old OS 0lnera#ilities are the ?rst things hac3ers tr& to e;ploit and can render
all &or other secrit& measres seless.
Web Browser and Email Client
4ow that 1indows Firewall is rnning and that 1indows is patched p* it=s
time to get a new #rowser instead of sing .nternet /;plorer 6./7. ./ has
impro0ed secrit& Eite a #it since it was ?rst introdced* #t &o wold #e
mch #etter o< with a di<erent #rowser. Fere are some of the choices:
Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox UR!
"es#ription! 'o@illa Firefo; is pro#a#l& the most poplar ./ alternati0e
arond. .t has all the ad0anced #rowsing featres &o wold e;pect* and has
mch impro0ed secrit& compared to ./. "lso has lots o< free add-ons li3e
4oScript https://addons.mo@illa.org/en-US/?refo;/addon/)(( * which impro0es secrit&.
Spports 1indows %ista.
i#ense! Open Sorce
$pera
$pera UR! http://www.opera.com/
"es#ription! Opera is another great free #rowser* a0aila#le not onl& on the
P: #t for a 0ariet& of other platforms 6the 4intendo 1ii ses a 0ersion of the
Opera #rowser for its .nternet :hannel7. 4ot as poplar as Firefo;* #t this
cold o<er &o more secrit& 6throgh o#scrit&7. Spports 1indows %ista.
i#ense! Freeware
5he ne;t thing to install is an email client 6some of the free software we will
download reEire a 0alid email address7. " we# #ased email tool li3e Google
Gmail or CahooG 'ail might #e a good place to start. Getting a free email
accont to se for online registration is a great wa& to pre0ent spam Hooding
into &or primar&/.SP email* and ma3es mo0ing .SPs easier #& not ha0ing to
change &or email address whene0er &o change .SPs.
>t sometimes &o ma& need to ha0e a des3top email client 6that can also
access &or online email acconts7. Co pro#a#l& sholdn=t rel& on Otloo3
/;press* althogh it is free* since li3e .nternet /;plorer* secrit& is a pro#lem.
4ote that #rowsers li3e Firefo; or Opera a#o0e normall& inclde an email
client* #t with limited fnctionalit&. For fll fnctional standalone mail clients*
&o ha0e a few good choices:
T%underbird
T%underbird UR! http://www.mo@illa.com/en-US/thnder#ird/
"es#ription! " companion to 'o@illa Firefo;* o<ers ad0anced email featres
for a price &o can=t arge with. Spports 1indows %ista.
i#ense! Open Sorce
Eudora
Eudora UR! http://www.edora.com/download/
"es#ription! /dora is a well 3nown commercial email client* #t it has a
freeware 0ersion that is missing some featres* or another 0ersion that has
all the featres #t is spported #& the displa& of some ads within the client.
Spports 1indows %ista.
i#ense! "d-spported fll& fnctional freeware* or featre-disa#led light
0ersion 6no ads7
Se#urity
5o secre &or compter* &o need an in#ond/ot#ond personal ?rewall 6a
software that scans incoming and otgoing traAc to &or compter* to
protect from hac3ers and malware7* an anti-0irs scanner 6to scan we# pages*
email and ?les for 0irs/tro8ans7 and a sp&ware #loc3er. 5here is a great
thread on or form that discsses free secrit& software* &o can read this
thread here. >e sre to onl& choose one of each t&pe of secrit& software 6eg.
! ?rewall* ! anti-0irs* ! sp&ware #loc3er7* as if &o install mltiple software*
the& might conHict with each other and lea0e &o nprotected. 5he e;ception
is for anti-sp&ware* where &o can se 1indows $efender for realtime
scanning* and then Sp&#ot SI$ to scan &or entire s&stem 8st in case
something has slipped throgh. "t the end of this section* there is also some
information on how to protect &or online pri0ac&.
.f &o=0e followed this gide* &o are alread& sing 1indows Firewall. 1e will
now e;amine some #etter choices for ?rewall software* since 1indows
Firewall does not protect &o from ot#ond traAc 6traAc from &or
compter* which might #e malware or a tro8an tr&ing to spread itself to &or
friend=s compters7. Fere are the choices:
&one'larm Basi#
&one'larm UR! Jone"larm >asic
"es#ription! Jone"larm is a commercial ?rewall/secrit& software site* #t
has a free #asic 0ersion that wor3s great as a personal ?rewall.
i#ense! Freeware 6less featres than commercial 0ersion7. Sa0e K(+ when
&o $ownload Jone"larm Secrit& Site toda&
Comodo Free Firewall
Comodo Free Firewall UR! :omodo Free Firewall
"es#ription! :omodo Free Firewall* winner of P: 'aga@ine Online=s /ditor=s
:hoice award* o<ers ot-of-the-#o; protection against identit& theft hac3ers*
5ro8ans* scripts and other n3nown threats.
i#ense! Freeware
4ow for an anti-0irs tool. 5here are also free alternati0es to poplar
commercial choices sch as 4orton or 'c"fee:
'(G 'nti)(irus Free
'(G 'nti)(irus Free UR! http://free.grisoft.com
"es#ription! "%G "nti-%irs pro0ides protection from 0irs and tro8ans for
non commercial home se* with reglar pdates to 3eep &o safe. Spports
1indows %ista.
i#ense! Freeware 6for non commercial se7
a*ast+ anti*irus
a*ast+ anti*irus UR! http://www.a0ast.com/
"es#ription! a0astG 9 Fome /dition is a fll-featred anti0irs pac3age
designed e;clsi0el& for home sers and non-commercial se. Spports
1indows %ista.
i#ense! Freeware 6for non commercial se7
ClamWin
ClamWin UR! http://www.clamwin.com/
"es#ription! :lam1in is a free open sorce anti0irs software* #t does not
inclde realtime scanning
i#ense! Open Sorce
Fere are some tools that will protect &o from sp&ware* malware and other
nwanted software. "nd &es* we ?nall& ha0e a recommendation of a 'icrosoft
software. " recommended setp is to se 1indows $efender for realtime
scanning* and then Sp&#ot SI$ or "d-"ware to scan &or entire s&stem 8st
in case something has slipped throgh.
Windows "efender
Windows "efender UR! http://www.microsoft.com/defender/
"es#ription! Free from 'icrosoft to pro0ide realtime defence against
nwanted software. Onl& reEirement is a genine 0ersion of 1indows.
Spports 1indows %ista.
i#ense! Freeware
Spybot ) Sear#% , "estroy
Spybot ) Sear#% , "estroy UR! http://www.safer-
networ3ing.org/en/home/
"es#ription! Sp&#ot - Search I $estro& is non realtime anti-sp&ware tool
i#ense! Freeware
'd)'ware SE -ersonal
'd)'ware SE -ersonal UR! "d-"ware S/ Personal
"es#ription! "d-"ware S/ Personal o<er free sp&ware remo0al* #t does not
o<er realtime protection.
i#ense! Freeware
Finall&* there is the isse of pri0ac&. 1hen &o #rowse we#sites* a lot of
information a#ot &or compter is sent o0er* part of the wa& the .nternet
wor3s nfortnatel&. 5o protect &or pri0ac&* &o can se a free anon&mos
pro;& or se an online anon&mi@er tool li3e the-cloa3. For an easier to setp
and more relia#le soltion* tr& 5or* which is a pac3age of se0eral tools that
will ma3e it impossi#le to trac3 &or online mo0ements. 5he #est thing a#ot
5or is that a Firefo; add-on is a0aila#le that allows it to #e ena#led and
disa#led at the clic3 of a #tton 6some sites are not compati#le with 5or* and
#rowsing is mch slower when sing it* so sometimes &o ma& want to
disa#le it7. Spea3ing of Firefo; add-ons* there are lots of secrit& and pri0ac&
related add-ons for this #rowser here 64oScript is a good one to get rid of
scripts on we# pages* which is a main sorce of malicios code and it also
stops ads from displa&ing7.
File Transfer. Sear#% and Ba#/up0Re#o*ery
4ow that we=0e got or #rowser and secrit& set p* let=s ta3e a loo3 at ?le
transfer clients. Starting with F5P:
File&illa
File&illa UR! http://?le@illa.sorceforge.net/
"es#ription! F5P client that does e0er&thing &o want* erm* with F5P. Reall&
no reason to get a commercial F5P client.
i#ense! Open Sorce
SmartFT-
SmartFT- UR! http://www.smartftp.com/
"es#ription! "nother free F5P client. Spports 1indows %ista.
i#ense! Freeware 6for non commercial se7
>it5orrent* despite its reptation as a tool for pirates* is actall& Eite sefl
for downloading an& sort of large ?le* #e it an Lin; .SO or a game demo.
Lc3il&* most >it5orrent clients are free* #t here are or pic3s:
1Torrent
1Torrent UR! http://www.torrent.com/
"es#ription! " fll&-featred >it5orrent client with a small footprint 6low :PU
sage7 and eas& to se interface. Spports 1indows %ista.
i#ense! Freeware
BitComet
BitComet UR! http://www.#itcomet.com/
"es#ription! >it5orrent client that also do#les as a F55P/F5P download
accelerator. Spports 1indows %ista.
i#ense! Freeware
'zureus
'zureus UR! http://a@res.sorceforge.net/
"es#ription! '& former fa0orite >it5orrent client* #t far too resorce
hngr& compared to L5orrent* de to the inherent wea3ness of ,a0a.
i#ense! Open Sorce
For ?le searching on &or compter* if &o are not alread& sing %ista=s
search featres 6or not sing %ista at all7* then there are se0eral choices in
terms of des3top searching. 5he ones .=ll spotlight are Google $es3top Search
6%ista read&7* :opernic $es3top Search and e0en one from 'icrosoft*
1indows $es3top Search.
Google $es3top Search
http://des3top.google.com/
:opernic $es3top Search
http://www.copernic.com/
1indows $es3top Search
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/des3topsearch/defalt.msp;
'o0ing on to ?le #ac3p and reco0er&. File #ac3p is one of those things that
people don=t reall& care a#ot ntil the& ?nd that the& need the #ac3p* and
sall& #& then* it is too late. Sometimes &o hard-dri0e manfactrer will
pro0ide simpli?ed #ac3p tilities that most will ?nd enogh for their #ac3p
needs - for e;ample* Seagate and 'a;tor F$$ owners ha0e $isc1i@ard
http://tin&rl.com/()&-Mt / 'a;>last http://tin&rl.com/(n-#&& ses the poplar "cronis
#ac3p engine to pro0ide image #ased #ac3p 6#ac3p the entire hard-dri0e*
sector #& sector - great for mo0ing from one dri0e to another7.
Co can also se 1indows >ac3p to #ac3p &or ?les* with the %ista 0ersion
#eing a #it more sefl than the 2P 0ersion 6especiall& the image #ased
#ac3p featres in the >siness and Ultimate editions of %ista7.
For freeware options* tr& S&nc>ac3 Freeware
http://www.(#rightspar3s.com/downloads.htmlNfreeware or
/J>ac3-it-p http://www.rdcomp.net/e@#ac3itp/inde;.php
5hen there is the 4ero Site* which incldes 4ero >ac3.tUp - e0en thogh
4ero is commercial software* 4ero is #ndled with almost e0er&thing these
da&s* it can almost #e considered free software.
S&nc>ac3 /J>ac3-it-p 4ero >ac3.tUp
.f restoring a #ac3p is no longer an option 6ie. &o didn=t do it* and now
&o=0e lost/accidentall& deleted some data7* &o can se a ?le reco0er& tool
to get at least some ?les #ac3. File reco0er& is no alternati0e to #ac3p
thogh* and in the #est cases* &o will #e lc3& if &o can get O+P of &or
?les #ac3. Co can tr& sing $"5" Unerase Personal /dition to see if &o can
still reco0er the deleted ?les 6if the& had onl& #een recentl& deleted* there is
a good chance of reco0er&7. "lso tr& Undelete Pls.
$"5" Unerase Personal /dition Undelete Pls
http://www.octanesoft.com/data_reco0er&_free_edition.html
Undelete Pls
http://www.ndelete-pls.com/
$2#e and -rodu#ti*ity
'icrosoft OAce is an oAce site that will almost meet &or word processing*
spreadsheet* presentation and other oAce/school related needs.
Unfortnatel&* it is also Eite e;pensi0e* althogh the OAce (++) Fome and
Stdent edition is Eite a<orda#le* and allows &o to install it on M compters
too - #t cheap is not good enogh for this gide* it has to #e free.
5here is reall& onl& one ma8or free alternati0e to 'icrosoft OAce 6oQine
an&wa&7* and that is OpenOAce. .t o<ers compati#ilit& with 'icrosoft OAce
docments* and spports the latest 1indows %ista 6as well as other poplar
OSes sch as Lin; or 'ac OS7. 5he OpenOAce pac3age incldes:
http://www.openoAce.org/
1riter - word processor
.mpress - presentation tool
'ath - math eEation editor
$raw - graphics/diagram creator
:alc - spreadsheet tool
>ase - data#ase tool
OpenOAce - 1riter OpenOAce - .mpress OpenOAce - :alc
.f &o don=t mind editing &or docments online* then &o can se Google
$ocs to create &or docments and spreadsheet. .t=s not as fanc& as 'S
OAce or OpenOAce* #t most of &or needs shold #e met. Pls* it spports
#oth 'S 1ord and OpenOAce docment formats. "nd it=s also a great wa& to
share &or docments online* allowing grops to edit a single docment. 1h&
not sign p for free and tr& ot Google $ocs for &orself.
Google $ocs
http://docs.google.com/
-rimo-"F http://www.primopdf.com/
.f P$F docment creation is what &o need* loo3 no frther than PrimoP$F.
PrimoP$F can con0ert &or e;isting docments to P$F format throgh a
printer interface 6print the docment as &o wold normall&* #t instead of
printing to paper* it prints to a P$F ?le7. .ts main featres inclde:
Print to P$F from 0irtall& an& application.
:reate P$F otpt optimi@ed for print* screen* e#oo3* or prepress.
"#ilit& to merge and append P$F ?les pon con0ersion
Secre P$Fs with 9+-/!(R-#it encr&ption* allowing the highest le0el of
secrit& for &or P$F ?les. Settings inclde password to open* password to
change* disa#le printing* disa#le te;t/graphics cop&ing* disa#le commenting*
disa#le te;t editing* disa#le page addition.
Spea3ing of P$F* &o shold pro#a#l& download and install "do#e Reader. .
don=t personall& li3e it 6a #it #loated* if &o as3 me7* #t &o reall& do need it
as P$F is sed all o0er the place.
1ant to ma3e &or own we# pagesS Starting with a 1CS.1CG we# page
editor* 'o@illa Sea'on3e& incldes :omposer* a we# page editor. 1ant
something a #it more ad0ancedS 5r& 40* the open sorce we# site editor
and manager that aims to ri0al #igshots li3e 'icrosoft FrontPage or
$reamwea0er. For a simple #log* &o can se the 1ordPress online ser0ice* or
download the 1ordPress pac3age and host it &orself.
Co can e0en host &or own we#site on &or compter 6.SP permitting7* and
for that* &o need the "pache F55P ser0er* the most poplar we# ser0er in
the world 6and it=s free - 1indows #inar& a0aila#le7. For &or data#ase needs*
tr& '&STL* also free.
-%oto0Grap%i#s Manipulation
1ant Photoshop #t don=t want to pa& for it 6there=s a pirac& 8o3e in here
somewhere7S 4o worries* #ecase free alternati0es are a0aila#le:
G.'P
G.'P URL: http://www.gimp.org/
$escription: G4U .mage 'aniplation Program. Powerfl graphics editing and
athoring program.
License: Open SorceU
Paint.4/5
Paint.4/5 URL: http://www.getpaint.net/
$escription: Started de0elopment as an ndergradate college senior design
pro8ect mentored #& 'icrosoft* as a replacement for the crapp& 1indows
Paint software. Spports 1indows %ista.
License: Freeware
Serif PhotoPls
Serif PhotoPls URL: Serif PhotoPls
$escription: "nother choice if G.'P and Paint.4/5 is not &or cp of tea.
PhotoPls is pro#a#l& more oriented towards photo maniplation/correction.
License: Freeware
For M$* Fractor and %ector graphics tools* ha0e a loo3 at this thread for some
freeware inspirations.
Multimedia -layba#/
Finall& #ac3 to a topic where .=m not tal3ing ot of m& &o-3now-what.
Oops ... re0ealed too mch ...
So &or new compter now has a great we# #rowser* secre as a safe* &o
can download things at !++P of &or ma;imm .nternet speed* and &o=0e
fond a neat wa& to ma3e all &or photos loo3 great. So now for the fn part*
let=s pla& some msic and mo0iesG
Using 1indows* &o shold pro#a#l& ?rst install 1indows 'edia Pla&er. .
3now it=s not the se;& thing to install 'icrosoft software* #t it is a nice wa&
to get started ne0ertheless. Co shold pro#a#l& also install i5nes for &or
msic prchase needs and &or iPod.
Winamp
Let=s start with adio:
1inamp - the mother of all free adio pla&ers. .ncldes :$ ripper and
#rner.
Tintessential Pla&er - the name is hard to spell* the software is eas& to
se. .ncldes :$ ripper
8et"dio - a free #asic 0ersion is a0aila#le that has :$ ripping and #rning
spport
'o0ing on to 0ideo pla&#ac3* speci?call& $%$s and &or
"%./$i02/20i$/F.(-9/'PG/'V%/OGG/1'%/'O%/R"' and other 0ideo ?les. .
cold go on all da& a#ot which pla&ers . li3e* which codecs &o shold
download* #t at the end of the da&* it might #e 8st easier to download a
codec pac3 and install that. :odec pac3 ha0e come a long wa&* and in the
past . wold a0oid them li3e the plage* #t the newer ones install 8st the
right amont of codec/?lters/software and the& are eas& to select dring
install and relati0el& eas& to ninstall. 5he codec pac3 . am going to
recommend is one .=0e #een recommending for a few of m& other gides
recentl&* V-Lite :odecs Pac3.
$ownload the pac3 and se one of the pre-de?ned install pro?les 6or follow
these instrctions7. Co will end p sing 'edia Pla&er :lassic 6'P:7 to pla&
#ac3 most ?les* inclding $%$s. 'P: is not the prettiest pla&er arond* #t it
wor3s damn well* e0en for $%$ pla&#ac3.
Media -layer Classi#! "(" -layba#/
Other nota#le free 0ideo pla&ers inclde %L: media pla&er* another simple
and e<ecti0e media pla&er that won=t reEire &o to install a #nch of codecs.
5he same deal with 'Pla&er. For a fll featred dedicated free $%$ pla&er*
&o can also tr& "%S $%$ Pla&er.
5ro#leshoot &or "%. pla&#ac3 pro#lems sing afree:odec%5* download
s#titles for "%. ?les sing S#$ownloader and displa& them in the 0ideo
sing %SFilter.
.f &o ha0e a mltimedia de0ice that spports UPnP streaming 6eg. 2#o; M-+*
or the PSM7* then &o cold set p a UPnP ser0er on &or compter to share
all &or photos* adio and 0ideo ?les. 1indows 'edia Pla&er !! 6and Jne7
comes with 1indows 'edia :onnect* which allows &o to share &or 1indows
'edia Li#rar&* #t it will onl& share formats that 1'P 6and Jne7 spports
nati0el&. " #etter #et is 5%ersit&* which allows &o to share prett& mch all
?le formats. Co can e0en se Or# to share &or media online.
1ant free .nternet 5%S 5r& ,oost - all &o need is a #road#and connection and
,oost does the rest. ,oost crrentl& o<ers arond ( do@en channels
6a0aila#ilit& depending on &or location7* inclding 4ational Geographics
channel 6US/:anada onl&7* :omed& :entral 6US7* S. Swimsit on $emand*
"ardman "nimation and more.
4eed something li3e 1indows 'edia :enter* #t don=t want to #& 1indows
':/ or %istaS 5r& Got "ll 'edia* 'ediaPortal or 2lo##&.
Multimedia Creation
5his section co0ers creating &or own 0ideo and adio ?les* :$s* $%$s.
Starting with adio ?les:
"dacit&
"dacit& URL: http://adacit&.sorceforge.net/
$escription: " free adio editor and recorder
License: Open Sorce
:$e;
:$e; URL: http://cde;os.sorceforge.net/
$escription: " personal& fa0orite* :$ ripper and adio encoder
License: Open Sorce
foo#ar(+++
foo#ar(+++ URL: http://www.foo#ar(+++.org/
$escription: foo#ar(3 is an ad0anced adio pla&er* #t also incldes adio
con0ersion* encoding and tagging spport
License: Open Sorce
'utoG3
5here are far too man& free 0ideo ?le creation/editing tools* . mean this entire
we#site is prett& mch dedicated to them* #t .=ll list here some of the more
poplar ones 6$%$ athoring/editing tools not inclded here7:
%irtal$# - "%. editing* encoding and captring
http://www.digital-digest.com/d0d/downloads/showsoftware_0irtald#_M9-.html

"toGV - $i02/20i$ encoder/con0erter
http://www.di0;-digest.com/software/atog3.html
%o#S# - s#title decoder/ripper
http://www.di0;-digest.com/software/0o#s#.html
SUP/R - con0ert to/from most 0ideo formats
http://www.digital-digest.com/software/sper.html
$i02Land 'edia S#titler - create and edit s#title ?les
http://www.di0;-digest.com/software/di0;land_media_s#titler.html
'd*an#ed Tools!
'eGU. - more ad0anced 0ideo encoder* designed for F.(-9 encoding
http://www.di0;-digest.com/software/megi.html
;(-9 - ad0anced command line F.(-9 encoder* sed #& 'eGU. and other
tools
http://www.di0;-digest.com/software/;(-9.html
"%.s&nth - scripting tool needed #& almost e0er&thing
http://www.di0;-digest.com/software/a0is&nth.html
C"'> - 'P9 m;/dem;/tagger
http://www.di0;-digest.com/software/&am#.html
"(" Fli#/
4ow on to $%$ athoring and editing* again too man& to list* #t here are
some recommended ones:
$%$ Flic3 - con0ert &or 0ideo ?les to a $%$* also tr& "0i($0d or 5he
Film'achine
$%$ Re#ilder - $%$ #ac3p/re-encoder
"d0anced 5ools:
Pgc/dit - ad0anced $%$ .FO editor* also tr& .fo/dit
S#title:reator - create s#titles for $%$s
FinalBurner
Co wold normall& se 4ero to #rn &or :$ and $%$s* and 4ero #eing
#ndled with almost e0er&thing these da&s* it can almost #e considered free
software. >t for trl& freeware soltions to :$ and $%$ #rning or imaging*
loo3 no frther than:
Final>rner - #rn :$/$%$s* create adio $%$s and more
>rn9Free or :$>rner2P Pro or $eep>rner Free - more wa&s #rn :$ and
$%$s with ease
.mg>rn - #rning and imaging tool* or load &or images in $"/'O4 5ools
instead of #rning them
.soP@@le - reco0er damaged data from :$/$%$s
$%$"thorGU. - create $%$s with mens
$%$ slideshow GU. - create photo $%$ slideshows
Games
Co can=t tal3 a#ot compter software and not co0er games. 1indows 2P
incldes some games. Solitaire* Fearts* Free:ell and 'inesweeper shold
occp& contless hors of &or time* especiall& at wor3.
4ostalgic gaming is great* to #e a#le to pla& the games from &or childhood.
'ost people don=t ha0e their old game s&stems an&more* and &o might ha0e
to search all o0er the contr& to ?nd the classic "rcade coin-ops 6or if &o are
mega rich* &o can #& a replica7. For the rest of s* there=s emlators. '"'/
6'ltiple "rcade 'achine /mlator7 can #ring all the old classics li3e Space
.n0aders* Pac 'an* Frogger* #ac3 to life. Street Fighter ..S 'ortal Vom#atS 4o
pro#lem. /0en some newer arcade hits are pla&a#le. .=m not going to lin3 to
an& '"'/ roms de to their legal stats 6althogh is it still illegal if there are
no other wa& to get the gameS7* #t &o can ?nd those &orself easil&
enogh.
'"'/ J4/S Pro8ect -9
.t=s not 8st arcade games that can #e emlated* S4/S* Genesis 6'ega $ri0e7
and e0en 4-9 emlators are also a0aila#le.
" lot of the applications .=0e listed so far are open sorce* and there are e0en
open sorce games. Some of these games are clones of e;isting games* and
o<er practicall& the same e;perience 6and sometimes with less #gs7. Free:i0
is an open sorce :i0ili@ation .. clone* gi0ing &o hors of open ended
gamepla&. Similarl&* Free:ol is a :oloni@ation clone. Lincit&-4G is a Sim:it&
clone. Open55$ is a 5ransport 5&coon $el;e clone* one of m& fa0orites. Co
can ?nd a fairl& complete list of open sorce games here.
Free:i0 "merica=s "rm& >eneath a Steel S3&
/0en when the& are not open sorce* there are still some free games arond.
Propaganda aside* "merica=s "rm& is the most famos* and whate0er &or
politics* &o can=t arge that "" is a 0er& decent mltipla&er ?rst-person
shooter. :omplete list of freeware games here.
Some commercial games are re-released later on as freeware. Scmm%'
pro0ides an interface where lots of classic point and clic3 games can #e
downloaded and pla&ed* games li3e >eneath a Steel S3&* >ro3en Swords !
and (. 5here is also >:MV* a saga of a game for the completel& wrong
reasons. Railroad 5&coon is now o<ered as freeware to promote the new Sid
'eier=s RailroadsG game. " complete list of these t&pes of games can #e
fond here.
Con#lusion
5his gide onl& gi0es &o a small sample of all the freeware and open sorce
possi#ilities ot there. 5here is reall& no need to #& 6or pirate7 software
nless &o ha0e speci?c needs* and most sers will get along 8st ?ne with
free software.