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My Review of Useful Free Programs
The internet is full of a bunch of crap: millions of programs begging you to install them. However, there are some good programs out there. This is a list of programs that are free and have been very useful to me. My Blog now contains useful information! oooo.
Lavasoft Ad-Aware v6- If you download programs off the internet this program is a must have. It scans your computer for ad supported software and then removes the ads. I have never had a program with ads to stop functioning after the ads were removed. Ad-aware can be downloaded from www.download.com.
DivX - This allows you to play more .avi video files. Movies, Family Guy eps, etc. usually require this in order for them to be viewed. You can downloaded the Pro version from DivX.com and remove the ads with Ad-Aware.
InboxCop - I get lots of spam every day in my mail. Outlook filters worked, but not that well. InboxCop is the answer. It identifies spam mail and holds it until you delete it or after a user-specified number of days. This program relieves so much frustration (I swear UF sells out our emails for money, lol) It can be downloaded from www.download.com. The programs occasionally marks good mail as spam, but since it does not delete it, you can still get all your mail. I have had InboxCop for 85 days. It has processed 723 emails for me, and caught 243 as spam. Only about 10 of those were good messages, which I just selected to keep. It didn't delete them or anything. InboxCop was free, but now it costs money. I got the program before they started charging. I am sure you can find the older versions somewhere online.
Google Toolbar v2 - This toolbar not only allows you to easily use Google to search, but comes with a very good pop-up blocker.
WinZip, WinRar, and WinAce - Allows you to open compressed files. Serials can be found online so you don't get the "Register" pop ups, not that I would ever think of doing something illegal like that :P (this blog is on UF server space). They all can be downloaded from www.download.com.
DeadAIM - This program adds many features to AIM, most notably MSN-style pop-ups that tell you when users sign-on/off or become available, and removing the ad at the top. Version 4 costs money, but version 3 (which is almost the same as 4) can be downloaded from www.oldversion.com
InterVideo WinDVD v5 Platinum- This is the best DVD playing software I have seen. It allows you to capture screenshots as the DVD is playing, allows the DVD to play as your desktop background, and improves the sound/video quality. It can be downloaded from intervideo.com. Once you download the program, Keygen programs can make the program think it's registered, but again, I would never dream of using them.
WindowBlinds v4.2 - This program is both good and bad. It is really nice to be able to skin windows into whatever you want, but it can slow down system performance slightly. I like the skins you can download from www.wincustomize.com. It makes Windows look better. I am using one right now. However, I cannot find how to use a keygen to unlock the full version of the program and avoid the annoying pop-up when you start Windows. But of course I would not register it without paying first :P The program can be downloaded from www.windowblinds.com This program is useless in terms of function and seems more to me as something computer nerds use to make themselves look more "nerdyish".
RealOne Player - RealOne is annoying, but I do not know of any other way to watch .rm files. You can get it from www.realone.com.
Apple Quicktime - Although just as annoying as RealOne, this program is necessary in order to play .mov files.
WinAmp - This is the best music playing software I have seen for free. The integrated Internet Radio is great. I can switch from listening to 80's hits to Iranian muisc within a second. I had forgotten how much I liked WinAmp. Version 2 was great. I had downloaded many skins for that version as well. Then when v3 came out and I found I could not use any of my skins I did not upgrade. Then when I switched computers I never bothered getttin WinAmp again. However, version 5 is great! Dave said he was downloading it so I checked it out, now I'm really happy that I got it, I on;y wish I could download mp3's as well :P UF's ICARIS is evil!
If you know of any more, add them in the comments!
Belched up with tidings of comfort and joy by Joe
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6:15:00 PM. |
