7 September 2011:
15 Must Have FREE Applications (at least for me)
1. Google ChromeI think the first one is self-explanatory. It's probably the best web browser ever, definitely better than that crap of Internet Explorer. It's faster, supports new web languages like HTML5, and offers many extensions and themes. Although Firefox seems to be on par with Chrome on all these aspects, but to me, Chrome is still the best. My bias, maybe.
2. GIMP
GIMP isn't as popular as Google Chrome, but it is gaining in popularity, since it was released 10 years ago. GIMP is the best alternative to Photoshop, with the biggest plus point being that it is free, and yet offers most of what Photoshop has to offer. What you require but can't find in the program itself, search it up in their plug-in database, or anywhere on the Internet and download it in. Almost every image used in my blog is edited or created by GIMP.
3. doPDF
Everyone needs to create PDFs from time to time. For me, and many other tech sites, doPDF seems to be the best solution for this task. It's free, and yet generates rather decent PDFs whom resolutions are surely acceptable!
4. Glary Utilities
I just discovered this program today, and I am very, very impressed by it already. It has many, many essential functions like Registry Cleaner and File Shredder, just to list a few. And surprisingly, the search and analysis process was much faster than what I expected! Normally, such programs would probably take an hour or so to comb through files, but this took at most 2 minutes! One should seriously take time to explore this wonderful program that is freeware.
5. Funshion
This program comes from China. If you don't know of its awesomeness yet, it basically allows you to download TV / movie programs and watch them anytime! Sadly, there is quite few local programs being uploaded, only the very popular ones like 小娘惹. Also, it takes a long time, so don't pin your hopes on it for every program that you miss. It might be more reasonable to go to xinmsn for Catch-up TV if you missed a recent program. (Should I mention: its download speeds are mostly around 200 kB/s, so it's fast enough to ensure no breaky videos)
6. Notepad++
I do coding (mostly for my blog), and Notepad++ is a very good program for my coding needs. It has things like syntax colouring, which is very useful when you have 200+ lines of code to scan through. It also supports almost every possible language, whether web-based or not. So generally if you do programming, and desire a free coding progam, Notepad++ should be the one for you.
7. DAP
Are your downloads taking too long? Then use DAP! Download Accelerator Plus speeds up your downloads by a lot, and you can save a lot of time. My downloads once reached 300+ kB/s from an original 60 kB/s. A small rant, however: during installation, there will be a lot of selections, mainly asking you to download additional stuff like toolbars, and something from Speedbit. So, you must take note to deselect the checkboxes.
8. 7Zip
I use 7Zip to extract and compress files. It supports many file types, so you don't have to download different programs for different file types.
9. Format Factory
Format Factory is a comprehensive media converter. You can convert your photos, songs, videos to a wide variety of formats. Have fun experimenting which file format suits you the best. There are also functions like Video Joiner, which I use to combine files from Funshion sometimes. :)
10. Audacity
Audacity is a simple audio editor with a sightly dull interface, but compensates with having most of essential functions. Similar to GIMP, you can download all kinds of plug-ins, so there's almost no function that can't be done!
11. Graphmatica
Graphmatica has a dull interface, but it works perfectly fine. It has a very small file size, so you don't have to worry of it crashing your system. You can plot any kind of graph, and it is very handy when you have Math problems involving graphs! :P
12. Bulk Rename Utility
I found this program because of Funshion, heheh. Funshion would name my programs in Chinese, and I wanted to change them to English. Previously, I had to change it manually 20 times (for 20 episodes), and that was tiring. Also, you could make mistakes. But with BRU, I could just type in the pattern of the name I wanted, and it would change all the filenames at once! The interface looks scary and technical at first, but don't fret! Just read their help manual, and you'll find it very easy to get going.
13. Songbird
Instead of crappy Windows Media Player, I use Songbird for songs. (LOL) The interface is very, very nice, almost like a Mac program. The only problem I face was once when I accidentally added 100+ Audacity files, and it "flooded" the database. Removing them was a problem, since the delete option would not be available in some views. This program also has plug-ins for the many functions you want.
14. VLC Media Player
This program is almost self-explanatory. Although it has a big file size, but at least it compensates by playing almost any kind of video or song. (If I'm not wrong, pictures too!) It has a simple interface that can be edited.
15. xMind
I use xMind for mind mapping, especially for History revision. It has a pleasant interface, and it's very easy to understand and use. But if I'm not wrong, the file size is rather big as well.
And there you have it, 15 of my must-have programs! Hopefully you benefit from these programs. Oh by the way: All 15 of them are free. Some offer paid versions, so you could upgrade if you need to. But to me, all of them are enough with the paid version. :)