Applications with zero cost works even better than all your current expensive ones. So, why pay if you don’t have to?
There are thousands of software’s that are completely free and with awesome performance. Good Software’s are either too costly or simply unaffordable. But that doesn't mean every good software out there require you to shell out ridiculous amounts of money.
In this article we will look at lots of amazing applications that can be used for different purposes and are absolutely free to use. These applications provide you solutions that make your computing life much better without costing you a penny.
These application works even better than all your current expensive ones. So, why pay if you don’t have to.
I swear that this list will help you to find a free alternative to all your current expensive software.
Productivity suites
Open Office.org
It is one of the best applications to managing your document, spreadsheets, presentations and more. Using Openoffice you can do everything you can with Microsoft Office and with then software being open source, Software engineers contributing to make it better.
Useful similar applications
Thunderbird
Maintaining several email accounts in a single place has always been a forte associated with Microsoft Outlook. Thunderbird on the other hand is a alternative which is as good as Outlook if not better, providing you with the many of the same features to manage multiple email accounts at no cost at all.
Thunderbird lets you manage your POP and IMAP accounts with ease. Thunderbird 3’s tabbed email lets you load emails in separate tabs so you can quickly jump between them. Search results open in a new tab too. New tools like our timeline and filtering tools will help you pinpoint the email you’re looking for, whether it’s the one from yesterday, last month, or several years ago.
Sunbird
Manage your appointments and events using Sunbird. And if you would frown about having to use two different applications to manage emails and calendars you should definitely try out Lightning that combines Thunderbird with Sunbird to create a great productivity application.
Mozbackup
Another great freeware for backing up your Thunderbird email is Mozbackup. Works for backing up email, password protected as well.
Backing up bookmarks, address book as well..
Dia
Good software is always conceptualized by defining the exact way in which it should work with process diagrams and flowcharts. If you have been paying out of your pocket for Microsoft Visio it is high time you switched to Dia open source software that allows you to create structured diagrams and flowcharts for free.
Internet and Browsing tools
Google Chrome
Between Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, and Safari, there are already lots of Web browsers in the market. Chrome adds some nifty new features such as tear-off tabs, private browsing, and DNS pre-caching. I agree that Chrome has a nice looking interface.
Firefox
It isn't only the best open source browser available today; it also provides you with a much safer and faster browsing experience. It is really much better than Internet Explorer and not many would say otherwise.
Useful similar applications
Digsby
If you want to chat with your friends I recommend Digsby sometimes your friends were logged in GTalk some others in AIM or Yahoo, you can keep in touch with all your friends with Digsby.
Digsby is much more than just a multi protocol instant messaging client. With Digsby you can keep in touch with your friends over AIM, Yahoo, GTalk and more without having to install separate clients, as well as check your e mails from multiple provider.
uTorrent
Wanna download movies, games, softwares and share to whom it want, direct download from web sites makes more traffic and speed is poor, use torrents for downloads whatever you want. uTorrent is one of the best bit torrent client I ever experienced. Not only is it lightweight it also can be managed using the browser by accessing the uTorrent site and the best part is it runs out of the box without requiring any installations.
Useful similar applications
Free Download Manager
I saved a lot of time when I started downloading through Free download manager and now I'm spending only a little time for downloading. I scheduled all downloads to time when my internet traffic is less. Free Download Manager allows you to download files from multiple sources, accelerating your download process, along with allowing you to pause and resume them.
Free Download Manager makes your download management much better and also comes with inbuilt support to download torrent files.
Cygwin - Linux emulator
I am an embedded software developer most of the times i have to work with Linux platforms. Most of the developers use Linux tools like gcc compiler, gtk and more...
Now most of the network application is building in Linux platforms.
I'm using windows as well as Linux simultaneously, before installing Linux into your main system need to practice a few skills.
Cygwin is one of the best Linux emulator you will ever find using which you can get your hands dirty without worrying about screwing up a actual operating system.
System Maintenance and Management Tools
Threatfire
PCs are under constant attack from viruses, spyware and identity theft. Every day you hear about a new threat to your PC. They're coming faster than ever before, they're getting harder to stop and traditional antivirus products are not able to keep up.
CCleaner
Your PC accumulates several temporary files and traces that are not useful to you. These temporary files and traces slow down the PC along with taking up unwanted disk space.
CCleaner is a cleaning robot for your computer, which is smart enough to know which places to look for unwanted files and traces. CCleaner can cleanup browsers browsing history cache so no need to clear all these things in browser and also unwanted files created by Windows.
Defraggler
Your PC is not the smartest thing in the world and it has a tendency to spread fragments of files all over the place.Defraggler allows you to sort out the mess and make your PC run faster and much better. The good thing about defraggler is that it allows you to choose the files you want to defrag making the process much more easier and faster.
Recuva
Sometimes we delete files with shift + delete option It might be an important file after some moments what to do? How to recover the deleted file? Surprised!! You thought that you could never recover the deleted file. There are several applications that will allow to recover deleted files.
Recuva is one of the best alternatives that is available today, not only is it very reliable, you will not have to spend a penny for it as it is completely free.
Speccy
Speccy is an advanced System Information tool for your PC. Speccy is not only an application for system administrators and power users but also it help normal users to know which processor using and how many memory slots like wise.
Imaging Tools, Graphics, 3D Tools, Image managers
Gimp
Gimp is undoubtedly the best alternative available for Photoshop. Edit your images with ease without having to worry about paying a fortune for Photoshop. Gimp also can be used in conjunction with plugins bringing a host of new features to the core software.
Useful similar applications
Blender
Creating 3D applications is not that easy but even harder is spending thousands of dollars to get software that allows you to create 3D animations.
Blender is a great application to work with 3D modelling with a great
Picassa
Picasa is definitely one of the best tools available for managing your photos. With Picasa you can import your pictures from your camera and edit them to change contrast, remove red eyes and more. You can also upload your pictures to your online album and share them with family and friends without having to upload each and every file individually.
Useful similar applications
Multimedia applications
VLC Player
VLC Player is one of the best video softwares available to view different files and formats. VLC player supports multiple codecs out of the the box allowing you to play almost all kinds of file formats without having to install any additional softwares or codecs.
Miro
Miro allows you to convert your PC into a Internet TV. You can use it to watch Internet video channels and play any video file. You can play files from YouTube and more and you can play almost any types of file with it including HD videos.
Editors, IDE and Development Tools
Eclipse
Eclipse is one of the best developments IDE available for building robust enterprise applications, embedded software development and more with support for several languages.
The Eclipse project has been supported by several well knows companies and also has a very large open source community to help develop and test the product.
Useful similar application
Notepad++
Notepad++ is not just a mere notepad replacement, it will allow you to modify several file types and has been getting better by the day with new features like auto complete and more.
If you are stuck with notepad this is definitely software you should give a try.
Useful similar applications
CD / DVD Writing Software, DVD Ripping, Virtual CD / DVD
Handbrake
Handbrake is a DVD Ripper that will allow you to rip DVD files and convert them to MPEG-4 format for Mac OS, Linux and Windows.
CDBurnerXP
CDBurnerXP is a free application to burn CDs and DVDs, including Blu-Ray and HD-DVDs. It also includes the feature to burn and create ISOs, as well as a multilanguage interface.
Magic Disc
Several applocations and games can be downloaded as image files like ISO, BIN etc. If you do not have a CD / DVD writer those files may be practically useless to you. With MagicDisc you can easily mount those image files as Virtual CD / DVDs and install the software, copy them and do more.
Utilities
Foxit PDF Reader
Foxit PDF Reader is no doubt one of the best alternative to the Adobe PDF reader. It is much more faster and robust than the reader provided by Adobe.
There are several features that you make you completely ditch Adobe PDF reader, if you have not already done that.
7Zip
7Zip is one of the best open source software which allows you to manage several types of archives with simplicity and ease. 7Zip supports all the popular archive formats such as zip, rar, gzip, tar and more.
It is by far a much better alternative to the dominating WinZip and WinRar softwares that require you to purchase licenses.
xPlorer2 Lite
Windows explorer is definitely not the best to manage files, with you have to open several windows just to perform a simple task of copying and pasting files.
xPlorer2 Lite is a very handy utility when it comes to managing files in Windows. The tabbed interface saves you lot of times and hassles simplifying the task of managing files.
Launchy
Loading applications has never been more easier than it is with Launchy. This is probably one of the best software that makes your life much more easier when it comes to opening applications without having to go through the pain of creating a desktop shortcut or searching for them.
Google Desktop
If you thought Google only worked online then you are in for a surprise. Google Desktop is one of the best indexing and desktop search tools for your PC with results as accurate as their web based search.
With Google Desktop Search you can search your files, emails, chat conversations and more.The handy sidebar also allows you to add gadgets so that you can access information quickly and easily.
Download Google Desktop and Learn more
May be several softwares I have missed, your contribution can make it more better for all to find the best software products. Please feel free to add in your choices in the comments
May be several softwares I have missed, your contribution can make it more better for all to find the best software products. Please feel free to add in your choices in the comments
thanks for letting me know about this, it definitely looks quite promising..
ReplyDeleteI’ve found a free alternative to all my current expensive software.
Don't forget Paint.NET as an alternative to PhotoShop
ReplyDeleteI have been using everything to search for files for ages, quick and efficient and finds most things
ReplyDeleteAnd it's bloody small and light on resources
http://www.voidtools.com/