Tuesday, December 27, 2005

My Open Source/ Freeware Top Ten

Here are some of my favorite Open Source/ Freeware programs:

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1.Mozilla Firefox 1.5 Filename: [Firefox Setup 1.5.exe] [Firefox Setup 1.0.7.exe] Web: http://www.mozilla.com/
License: GPL (Open Source)
The award-winning Web browser is better than ever. Browse the Web with confidence - Firefox protects you from viruses, spyware and pop-ups. Enjoy improvements to performance, ease of use and privacy. It's easy to import your favorites and settings and get started. Download Firefox now and get the most out of the Web.

*T-Note- Firefox is a breath of fresh air. Everything you always wanted to do in IE is available on install with Firefox or by download plugins. My favorite features:
-Tabbed Browsing- Open links in tabs within the same browser window instead of numerous windows.
-Bookmarks- Import your favorites (links) from IE. You can also publish your entire library of bookmarks as a simple html file! Very handy for sending someone all of your favorite links or sending it to your email so you can access them from anywhere.
-Search Bar- Comes equipped with a google search bar but there are over a hundred search bars available for firefox including IMDB and Wikipedia.
-Download Manager- Shows download progress but also keeps all your previous downloads.
-Great Plugins:
*Google Send to Phone- Highlight text on a webpage, click the icon and text it to your phone. Fast and Easy! http://toolbar.google.com/firefox/extensions/sendtophone/
*DictionaryTip(0.9)- extension shows the meaning of the selected word in a tooltip. This extension is ideal for those who doesn't like to switch their window to see the meaning of a word. One can press Ctrl+shift+D after selecting a word (or) double-click on a word to see its meaning in a tooltip. http://www.rjonna.com/ext/dictionarytip.php
*Iget- Iget initiates a direct download of a file given a url.
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2.Open Office 2.0 Filename: [Ooo_2.0.1_Win32Intel_install] Web: http://www.openoffice.org/
License: GPL (Open Source)
OpenOffice.org the product is a multi-platform office productivity suite. It includes the key desktop applications, such as a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation manager, and drawing program, with a user interface and feature set similar to other office suites. Sophisticated and flexible, OpenOffice.org also works transparently with a variety of file formats, including those of Microsoft Office, and the vendor-neutral OpenDocument standard from OASIS.
Available in over 45 supported languages with more being constantly added by the community, OpenOffice.org runs stably and natively on Solaris, Linux (including PPC Linux), Windows, Mac OS X (X11), and numerous other platforms. Our porting page lists the platforms (ports) that OpenOffice.org can run on.
Written in C++ and with documented APIs licensed under the LGPL open-source license, OpenOffice.org allows any knowledgeable developer to benefit from the source. And, because the native file format for OpenOffice.org is the vendor-independent OpenDocument open standard, interoperability is easy, making future development and adoption more certain.
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3.GraphCalc Filename: [GraphCalc4.0.1] Web: http://www.graphcalc.com/
License: GPL (Open Source)
When in the course of computing events it becomes apparent that not all calculators are created equal, one must turn no further than to GraphCalc. When the requirements of your computations exceed the capabilities of your four-function figurer, turn to GraphCalc. When you need to see what multiple compound exponential sinusoidal waves look like, turn to GraphCalc. Haven't we all at some point wanted to see what "sin(x)^2-3*ln(tan(x*pi))" looked like, and the Windows calculator just wasn't up to the task?
GraphCalc can be your first, last, and only line of offense against the mathematics that threaten to push you over the brink of insanity. It slices, dices, shreds and purees functions that leave other calculators wondering what hit them.
GraphCalc is an all-in-one solution to everything from everyday arithmetic to statistical analysis, from betas to Booleans, from cubes to calculus, from decimals to derivatives. GraphCalc combines all the features of a professional mathematics package with the simplicity of an easy to learn windows interface. It provides user-friendly help and tutorials to guide you through the easy and fun process of mastering GraphCalc.
GraphCalc is ready to use out of the box. Don't bother reading the documentation. Just start the program and you'll see how easy it is to use.
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4.Blender 2.40 Filename: [blender-2.40-windows.zip] Web: http://www.blender.org/
Blender is open source software for 3D modeling, animation, rendering, post-production, interactive creation and playback. Available for all major operating systems under the GNU Public License. It can be used for most video games in creating custom content like character models and for modding. Most popular game model and texture formats are supported or can be found on the web along with tons of free content created by users. License: GPL (Open Source)
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5.Audacity Filename: [audacity-win-1.2.4b.zip] Web: http://www.audacity.sourceforge.net/
License: GPL (Open Source)
Audacity is a free, easy-to-use audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems. You can use Audacity to:
Record live audio.
Convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs.
Edit Ogg Vorbis, MP3, and WAV sound files.
Cut, copy, splice, and mix sounds together.
Change the speed or pitch of a recording.
And more! See the complete list of features
*T-Note- Unzip [lame-3.96.1.zip] into Audacity's plugin directory for mp3 import/export.
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6.Ghostzilla Filename: [GhostzillaCD-1.0.1-free-v1.zip] Web: http://www.ghostzilla.com/
License: GPL (Open Source)
Ghostzilla is a Web browser like Firefox, but it shows up and disappears instantly, discreetly, blended with your application -- any application -- so the Web pages look like part of it and not like the Web at all. (Read here how.)

What would you use it for?
1.Hide from your boss and coworkers. Not a good idea; you can get fired (the network administrator sees everything you do) or end up wasting lots of time.
2.Survive endless meetings (if you have a laptop; kind of like (1) but a little better).
3.Have a browser instantly available and dismissable within your work application, washed out from ads and unnecessary pictures. This sounds useful -- except it will help you develop that attention deficit disorder. Seriously.
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7.ScreenGrab 1.0 Filename: [scrgrb10.zip] Web: http://no-nonsense-software.com/freeware/
License: Freeware
ScreenGrab is a simple, yet effective screen capture utility for Windows. When running, ScreenGrab responds to preset hotkey combinations, making it easy to make screen captures without having to click on buttons or use the mouse.
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8.Belarc Advisor Filename: [advisor.exe] Web: http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html
License: Freeware
The Belarc Advisor builds a detailed profile of your installed software and hardware, including Microsoft Hotfixes, and displays the results in your Web browser. All of your PC profile information is kept private on your PC and is not sent to any web server.

*T-Note- This program rocks. It creates a webpage in your default browser with a really, really detailed list of your computer's specs, hardware, software etc. Does not require an internet connection.
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9.Bit Torrent Filename: [BitTorrent-4.3.4-Beta.exe] Web: http://www.bittorrent.com/
License: BitTorrent Open Source License
BitTorrent is a free speech tool.
BitTorrent gives you the same freedom to publish previously enjoyed by only a select few with special equipment and lots of money. ("Freedom of the press is limited to those who own one" -- journalist A.J. Liebling.)
BitTorrent is not just a concept, but has an easy-to-use implementation capable of swarming downloads across unreliable networks. BitTorrent has been embraced by numerous publishers to distribute to millions of users.
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10.Neo Audio Filename: [setupneoaudio.exe] Web: http://www.topshareware.com/NeoAudio-download-6068.htm
License: Freeware
NeoAudio is a free program that rips CD audio to WAV, MP3, OGG Vorbis, or WMA directly. NeoAudio also encodes and decodes MP3s, OGGs, WMAs, and more. Remote and local CDDB and ID3v2 file naming is supported during extraction for automatic track naming. Advanced features include multiple/variable bitrate support, multi-drive reading, file compare, jitter correction, support for M3U and PLS playlist files, normalizing and more. With a simple point and click interface, NeoAudio is the perfect audio extraction and conversion solution for beginners and power users alike. NeoAudio also supports multiple language interfaces.
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Links:

http://sourceforge.net/
http://www.mozilla.com/
http://www.graphcalc.com/
http://www.openoffice.org/
http://irrlicht.sourceforge.net/
http://blender.org/
http://www.genesis3d.com/
http://www.swissquake.ch/chumbalum-soft/
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
http://www.ladspa.org/
http://www.ghostzilla.com/
http://no-nonsense-software.com/
http://www.bittorrent.com/

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