There is so much excellent free software available to download these days that it is easy to take it for granted at times. In fact, you might not realise just how much money you have saved simply by choosing free programs over commercial ones.
BEST OFFICE SUITE – LibreOffice
If you can’t afford the latest version of Microsoft Office (and wonder if you’ll ever use most of its tools), LibreOffice should more than suffice for the majority of your home and work tasks. Based on the same code as OpenOffice.org. this new office suite comprises a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation and slideshow creator, vector drawing program, database and mathematical equations editor.
Particularly interesting is the Experimental mode (in Options, General), which lets you play around with new, potentially unstable features, and there are numerous add-ons available that introduce additional functions to the software.
BEST COMPRESSION TOOL - 7-Zip
WinZip may still be the best-known compression tool, but it’s also one of the most expensive. 7-Zip is a far better program for archiving your files, and won’t cost you a thing. This open-source utility can unpack most compression formats and write to several popular choices, including ZIP, TAR and its own proprietary 7z format. The latest version offers 256-bit AES encryption, which you can use to protect sensitive files, create self-extracting archives and even benchmark the performance of your computer.
BEST EMAIL PROGRAM - Zimbra Desktop
This open-source email program is primarily aimed at users of webmail services such as Gmail, Yahoo Mail and Outlook, but you can also set up any email account through POP or MAP. Zimbra Desktop aggregates updates from all your social networks, and includes a contact database, calendar, task-list manager, documents store and briefcase. Although the program lacks the sophisticated mail-management tools of Outlook, you can use extensions to add further functionality.
BEST SCREEN-CAPTURE SOFTWARE - LlghtShot
LightShot offers a free and easy means of capturing content from your screen. Once installed, the program lets you grab any part of your screen by hitting the Print Screen button and selecting the area you want to capture. You can save the image to disk (in PNG, BMP or JPG format), copy it to the clipboard. upload it to LightShot’s image-hosting website , or edit the file online. You can also share captures via email, Facebook and Twitter.
BEST OCR SOFTWARE – FreeOCR
Instead of manually typing text from digital photos, screenshots or scans, you can use this Optical Character Recognition (OCR) tool to do aW the hard work for you. Either scan a new document or open an existing file in any of the supported image formats (TIF, JPG, BMP or PDF). Click the OCR button and the program will read the text and generate an editable version that you can tidy up and either copy to the clipboard or open in a word processor It’s much smaller and faster than paid-for alternatives.
BEST PDF-CREAT1ON TOOL - PDFCreator
Creating your own PDF files is easier and cheaper than you might think. All you have to do is put together a document using any word processor, publishing package or image editor, and then output it through PDFCreators virtual printer. You can include various details such as author name and creation date. The new software can also output the file in several other formats, including PNG, JPEG, BMP, PS and Text. True, Adobe Acrobat has many more advanced features, but PDFCreator will cover most PDF-related tasks.
BEST FTP SOFTWARE – FlieZilla
Easy to use, with a stylish tabbed interface, FileZilla can handle all your FTP transfer needs for free. The latest version of the program offers drag-and- drop support. synchronised directory browsing, remote file search. configurable transfer speed limits, filename filters and more. There’s also a handy network wizard that will help you properly configure your router and firewall.
BEST MUSIC EDITOR – Audacity
This popular multi-track audio tool lets you record, edit and merge sound files and enhance them with a range of effects You can use it to amplify a track, strip out vocals or background noise, change the speed and/or tempo and apply cross-fades to make a mix. To export an audio file in MP3 format you’ll need to download a free copy of Lame, but the program guides you through the process.
There are stable and beta versions of Audacity available, with the latter introducing a host of new audio- tweaking tools. These include a Sensitivity slider to adjust the noise- reduction threshold, and additional import preferences.
BEST MUSIC OGAN1SER – MediaMonkey
MediaMonkey is a leaner, faster alternative to iTunes. It also saves you forking out for commercial music- management software and is one of the few non-Apple music programs to synchronise with iPods, iPhones and iPads. It supports most audio formats and offers an array of great features. We especially like the ability to adjust the music in your collection to the same volume, and the option that scans for missing tags and duplicate tracks.
BEST MUSIC MAKER - Aviary Roc
Aviary is an excellent collection of bird-named web apps. Among its best tools is this music creator, which is very easy to use and ideal for creating short, downloadable loops. You can choose an instrument to start (it has an impressive selection), or load a sample project. You can place the beats where you like, or randomize their location and adjust the BPM and tempo. Creations can be saved online or exported in MP3 or WAV formats.
BEST MUSIC NOTATION TOOL - MuseScore
Anyone who knows how to write music will appreciate the benefits of this new music notation program. MuseScore lets you score your composition on a virtual note sheet using your mouse, keyboard or via MlDl. and provides an unlimited number of staves with up to four voices per staff. It also offers a built-in synthesizer and integrated sequencer.
BEST MEDIA PLAYER - VLC media player
You’re probably already familiar with VLC media player, which can handle almost any type of audio or video file (without the need for additional codecs), as well as CDs and DVDs.
BEST VIDEO EDITOR – Lightworks
There are plenty of free video-editing programs to choose from, but the just- released Lightworks is a true alternative to most commercial packages, having been used to cut numerous Hollywood films, including The King’s Speech. The software lets you record new clips directly or import existing ones. You can apply all manner of trims, effects, transitions and sound effects to your movies, manage multiple timelines simultaneously, apply color corrections, resync an entire timeline with a single click and much more.
BEST CD/DVD WRITER - BurnAware Free
This recently updated tool is powerful and easy to use and has all the burning options you’re likely to need. BurnAware Free can write to CD, DVD or Blu-ray, produce DVD video discs, create and burn image files, erase rewritable media, and make bootable ISOs and back-up discs. Usefully, the program can also display detailed disc arid drive information to help you identify burning problems. All the main options are accessible through a single menu.
BEST LANGUAGE TUTOR – Livemocha
Whether you’re learning another language for a specific purpose, or just for fun, Livemocha can help. The site offers both free and paid courses covering 38 different languages Tell the service the lingo you would like to learn and create your account. Once registered, you can find language partners to teach and learn from. Although the lessons aren’t as comprehensive as Rosetta Stone’s, Livemocha’s one-to-one approach is a great way to master a language as it’s spoken in everyday life.
BEST FAMILY-TREE SOFTWARE - Family Tree Builder
My Heritage’s free genealogy software simplifies the process of building a family tree and can automatically identify arid fix over 40 common errors, such as incorrect ages, missing dates and misspelled names. If you merge one tree with another, it can also eliminate possible duplicates A To-Do Tasks feature helps you prioritise outstanding work, and the new chart wizard lets you format your tree in various ways. It lacks Family Tree Maker’s integration with Ancestry (www.ancestry.co uk), but the program is still an effective way to get started with genealogy.
BEST TYPING TUTOR - TIPP10
Learning to touch-type isn’t difficult. but it takes a lot of practice. This new training application offers 20 lessons of varying difficultly, and keeps track of your progress so you can see how well you’re doing. You can repeat any lessons you’re struggling with and, cleverly, characters that you frequently mistype will appear more often to help you master them.
BEST WEBSITE BUILDER – BlueGriffon
Built around Firefox’s rendering engine, BlueGriffon supports all the latest web technologies including HTML5 and CSS3 You can switch between WYSIWYG and Source views and use a wide range of editing tools to create a professional- looking site. We particularly like the New Wizard feature, which asks you some questions and then creates a basic template site based on your answers.
BEST 3D-MODELLING TOOL - Google SketchUp
While it can’t really compete with the higher-end modelling programs, Sketch Up does let you create some impressively complex objects and structures, You can build a 3D model from scratch or simply download and adapt an existing project from Google’s 3D Warehouse. The software integrates with Googie Earth, Maps and - in its newest version - Street View, which makes it well suited to create 3D-scale versions of real-world buildings.
BEST IMAGE EDITOR - Paint.NET
We’ve recommended Paint.NET in Web User before, for its unbeatable range of editing tools, adjustments and effects. Since we last mentioned the program, a new version - v3.5.10 - has been released, which has a useful ‘fault- tolerance’ feature. This means that if the software or your PC should crash or suffer an error while you’re editing an image, the original file will be left intact.
The updated program also fixes some bugs with Paint.NET’s third-party plug-ins, which makes it the closest free image editor to Adobe Photoshop, and introduces some new effects. Although Paint.NET can’t compare with Adobe’s software in terms of professional tools, it can do everything from removing red-eye and blemishes to transforming your pictures into oil paintings.
BEST PAINTING PROGRAM – MyPaint
If you want to be a desktop artist without splashing out on a professional design program, try MyPaint. It lets you create art on an infinite canvas, which expands as required. The program’s interface consists of just two palettes, one for brush selection and the other for colour. You can work in pen, pencil, watercolour, oils, pastels, charcoal and more, and the different mediums all behave in a realistic manner. MyPaint supports layers to add depth to your masterpiece, and you can switch between different colours simply by right-clicking.
BEST PHOTO ORGANISER – Picasa
The latest release of Google’s powerful photo software, version 3.9, introduced a raft of features that make managing your pictures quick, easy and fun. Most notably, the software now offers name tags’, which identify similar faces in photos and group them together automatically. You can then use these tags to create a face collage or even a Face Movie (a video in which photos of a person blend into one another).
As well as using Picasa’s ever- improving set of tools for fixing, enhancing and sharing pictures, you can geo-tag your photos and add them to Google Earth and Google Maps to show where they were taken.
BEST DRAWING PACKAGE – Inkscape
Adobe Illustrator sets the industry standard for vector-artwork packages, but this free Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) program has a good selection of drawing, shape and text tools, which you car’ use to create logos. clip art, web graphics, technical diagrams and more. lnkscape is reasonably intuitive, and it’s a good choice for beginners. but if you do find yourself stuck or unsure about how to do certain things, there’s a detailed manual available.
BEST DESKTOP-PUBLISHING PROGRAM – Scribus
Page-layout programs are notoriously expensive and usually aimed at businesses, but Scribus is a great free alternative for home use. This powerful desktop-publishing program offers everything you need to produce professional-looking newsletters, flyers, and pamphlets. You can create a new publication from scratch, or simply adapt one of the ready-made designs. Finished results can be saved, exported in a range of formats, or printed. The program will automatically check through your document and point out any errors you might have missed.
BEST ANTI-VIRUS PROGRAM - Avast Free Antivirus
As well as offering real-time and on-demand protection, the just-released version of this free anti-virus program offers an AutoSandbox feature, which automatically isolates suspicious programs and prevents malware from gaining access to your system files. There’s also a useful new WebRep module, which displays Web-of-Trust- like reputation ratings for search results and websites, and lets you block specific URLs.
BEST BACK-UP TOOL - Easeus Todo Backup
Packed with features, the latest version of Easeus’s free tool lets you back up your entire system, selected partitions, files or folders, or specific file types. Data can be stored on another local or networked drive, written to CD or DVD or uploaded to a remote location via FTP. You can now schedule regular back-ups (rather than performing them manually) and choose between full or incremental saves (only files that have changed since the last time will be backed up).
BEST DATA-RECOVERY TOOL – Recuva
We’ve recommended Recuva before, but the new version has more great tools, chief of which is an improved support for iPods, so you can restore files you’ve accidentally deleted The updated software also features support for the portable operating system BartPE. And with the built-in Recuva Wizard, the program remains easy to use.
BEST MAINTENANCE PROGRAM - Glary Utilities
This collection of tools can find and fix problems with your computer, optimise Windows and safeguard your privacy. Our favourite feature is the 1-Click Maintenance mode. which can scan for and resolve problems including Registry errors, invalid shortcuts and spyware. Alternatively, you can access the tools individually through the Modules section.
BEST DISK-CLONING TOOL - EASEUS Disk Copy
The easiest way to upgrade to a larger hard drive is to clone the existing one and copy it over, There’s plenty of paid-for software you can use to perform this task, but we prefer the free EASEUS Disk Copy. To use the program, you’ll need to make a bootable version (either on CD/DVD or a USB flash drive) and then boot from it. Select the drive or partition to copy, and select the destination. The cloned version it creates will be identical in every way, including partition size.
BEST PARTITIONING TOOL - MiniTool Partition Wizard Home Edition
As well as copying, formatting, moving, resizing. merging arid deleting partitions, this program can also recover lost or deleted partitions. Amazingly for a free tool, it can also change drive letters, fix boot problems, perform surface scans and wipe old disks. You can queue up multiple changes and apply, undo or discard them.
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