Thursday, April 07, 2016

Common Free Software Packages I Use

Not too long ago I had to install all my apps on a new windows laptop.  In doing so I made a list of windows applications that I commonly use that are free or essentially free.  I hope it is useful.

  • Winamp - the old stand by for playing MP3 files.  
  • irfanview - another old stand by for image viewing and quick manipulation
  • e-sword.net - I'm a Christian, this is a great Bible / Bible study free package.  MySword on Android is good as well.
  • Virtual Clone Drive - Why burn an ISO to a DVD to use it if you don't have to?
  • 7-Zip (or Winzip) - Extends your base OS zip and unzip functionality to support more file types (like RAR files)
  • Libre Office - Decent enough, why pay for office if you don't have to?
  • Paint.Net - It ain't Photoshop but it will do in a pinch and it is free.
  • Visual Studio Community Edition - Essentially a full version of Visual Studio for free.  
  • SQLite Manager Extension for Firefox - using SQLite more and more for more and more things.  This extension for Firefox is kinda like SQL Manager for Sqlite.  There might be better ones but this one works great for me.
  • Notepad++ - I usually just use notepad but sometimes I like editing by column and Notepad++ supports that, also has great syntax highlighting support.
  • CC Cleaner - Keeps your Windows registry clean
  • Macrium Reflect - Need to clone a drive hassle free?  This is your beast.
  • Blender - For a little 3D fun
  • K-Lite Mega Code Pack - To make sure I can play videos from my phone.
  • Freemind - Mind mapping software.
  • CDBurnerXP - Free CD and DVD burner (not sure about Blue Ray support)
  • VLC Media Player - Free DVD and other format watcher
Maybe one day I'll come back and link to all these programs but you people are smart and can copy/paste into a google search like the rest of us.  Maybe there is one or two on the list you haven't heard of or had forgotten about.  Know of any that you think should be included on this list?  Add them to the comments.


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