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Not unlike most other hardcore computer users, I'm on a rather tight budget. Fortunately, these days you can find lots of good software for free on the Web. Apart from regular freeware, I'm using older versions of "payware" that are given away for free in order to lure people into buying the latest version. Check out the CD's that come with various computer mags, as these often contain such promo versions. On the subject of freeware, on this page you'll find a few descriptions of programs in daily use by yours truly - tried & tested - together with the links that will enable you to get them. Note: as you might expect, the odds are that I'm running Windows. Which means that, unless stated otherwise, all software will run under Win95/98. Since things tend to change rapidly on the 'web, there may be occasional "dead links". I'm doing my best to keep things up to date. Anyway, if you happen on a link that does not work, please mail me so I can correct it. |
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Computer Aided Design/Computer Aided Engineering Software is notoriously expensive. A generic 3D CAD such as Autocad will cost you a fortune, and one can justify buying software like this only if one needs to use it professionally (and gets paid accordingly). | |||||
Eagle V3.55 | |||||
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Target V8 | |||||
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If you are looking for a good freeware raster graphics editor, you're out of luck. The only one I know of is GIMP and it runs under Linux/Unix. Windows users should stick to Paint Shop Pro which provides good performance at a very reasonable price, or Photoshop if you can afford it (I can't). If anyone should come across a good raster graphics editor, I'd be most obliged to know about it. | |||||||||
Grids | |||||||||
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Irfan View (image viewer) | |||||||||
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Web Page Editors are among the most popular categories of freeware. An ever increasing number of editors is becoming available, and a few are quite good indeed. The very best freeware editors are all "text based", which means you effectively have to learn how to write HTML in order to use them. In theory, one could write a webpage even with a simple text editor such as Notepad, but it would take forever. Dedicated HTML editors have added functionality such as syntax highlighting and code libraries, which speed things up significantly and minimize typos in the code. Almost all freeware editors also offer extensive help on the subject of HTML, allowing beginners to learn to write their own code. Q: But why learn HTML if I can build my webpages with FrontPage Express without any fuss at all? A: Vade Retro Satana! WYSIWYG editors like FrontPage may be easy to use due to the fact you can cobble together something that will display on a browser while being blissfully unaware of how HTML works. But most pages built in this way are instantly recognizeable as such. Understanding how HTML works, and writing your code by hand, will help you think about what you're doing and give you maximum control over the appearance of your page. So if you're serious about your site, consider downloading one of these editors and start getting your feet wet. Believe me, it's worth it. | |||||
Evrsoft 1stPage | |||||
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Arachnophilia | |||||
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For any serious computer user, a plain text editor is a tool of vital importance. Plain text, as opposed to "rich text", does not contain style information such as colors or font changes, which is exactly what is required when you're writing code or tinkering with text-based databases. Windows has a plain text editor built in (Notepad) but its performance leaves much to be desired. Consequently, many programmers have been writing improved plain text editors, and most are available as freeware. | |||||||
NoteTab Light | |||||||
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Rogsoft Notepad+ | |||||||
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There are literally thousands of programs which cannot be considered as "applications", but nevertheless make life in front of your monitor easier. These are usually classified as "utilities". Some of these are just cool nifty gadgets, but others, like the internet firewall mentioned below, are absolute "must installs" | |||||||||||
ZoneAlarm | |||||||||||
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PGP | |||||||||||
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The Font Thing | |||||||||||
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About Time | |||||||||||
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Not all software necessarily has to be "useful". Fun is a part of geek life, too. | |||||
Felix | |||||
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