This is a place where we can all talk about the useful and FREE (no cracks/hacks/keygens) software. This first post will act as a list that will keep track of all the software discussed, link to the post that first mentioned it, as well as linking to the software's homepage/download page.

Use this topic to discuss and bring up anything related.
Feel free to mention any piece of software you think is useful, interesting, or fun (non browser based games), regardless of platform.
Please give a brief description, and also include a link to its homepage or download page.
Feedback appreciated!

Okay, lets begin!


AntiVirus

Avast! Home Edition (Windows) [Download]
- Avast! Home Edition includes includes ANTI-SPYWARE protection and ANTI-ROOTKIT detection based on GMER technology. No annoying pop ups asking you to upgrade to a "more complete" (read: paid subscriptions) version. Automatically gets newest definitions online daily.


Bit Torrent Clients

Azureus/Vuze (Windows) [Download]
- Powerful torrent meta-search with login support for private trackers. Discover high quality content on the Vuze HD network. Download quickly and efficiently with intelligent bandwidth, queue and speed management. Download or stream high-quality content from the Vuze HD Network. Sit back and savor the high-quality entertainment experience. Now on iPhone, iPod, Apple TV, Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PSP and TiVo.

BitTorrent (Windows, Mac, Linux) [Download]
- Harness a community of over 150 million users to deliver files to your PC faster than anything else.The new BitTorrent 6 for Windows brings together BitTorrent's proven expertise in networking protocols with µTorrent's efficient implementation and compelling UI to create a better BitTorrent client. Lightweight client Local peer discovery Configurable bandwidth scheduler Global and per-torrent speed limiting RSS downloader Quick-resumes interrupted transfers Trackerless support (Mainline DHT)

µTorrent (Windows, Mac) [Download]
- Tiny! µTorrent is the world's most popular BitTorrent client. Most of the features present in other BitTorrent clients are present in µTorrent, including bandwidth prioritization, scheduling, RSS auto-downloading and Mainline DHT (compatible with BitComet). Additionally, µTorrent supports the Protocol Encryption joint specification (compatible with Azureus 2.4.0.0 and above, BitComet 0.63 and above) and peer exchange. µTorrent was written with efficiency in mind. Unlike many torrent clients, it does not hog valuable system resources - typically using less than 6MB of memory, allowing you to use the computer as if it weren't there at all. Additionally, the program itself is contained within a single executable less than 220 KB in size.


Ebook Managers

Calibre (Windows, Linux, OS X) [Download]
Features in Spoilers as its a long list

Emulators

ePSXe (Windows, Linux [some versions]) [Download]
- PlayStation One emulator for PC. Best and most stable available. You will need to find your own BIOS. Please note that if you are running an older version, the newest is 1.7.0.


Instant Messaging and Voice Over Internet Provider

Google Talk (Windows) [Download]
- Pretty solid IM software. I haven't used its voip features or dug into the options but it could be just as good or better than Skype. Ties to your email and adds your contacts to your friends list as well as notifies you when you receive new email.

Skype (Windows, Mac, Linux, Mobile, PSP, iPhone) [Download]
- Supports almost every capable device. Allows for multiple ppl to talk at once. I don't remember if there is a cap to the size of the chat... Supports at least one on one video chat. Most popular software so chances are, if your friends us a voip program, its this. Did I mention it supports every platform?


Image Burning Software

CDBurnerXP (Windows) [Download]
- 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. Everyone, even companies, can use it for free. It does not include adware or similar malicious components.


Image Mounting Software

Daemon Tools Lite (Windows) [Download]
- DAEMON Tools is an advanced application for Microsoft Windows which provides one of the best optical media emulation in the industry. DAEMON Tools enables you to use your CD/DVD images as if they were already burned to CD/DVD. Full Windows 7 support; Windows Sidebar gadget for easy accessing of general DAEMON Tools Lite features; No need in “Run as Administrator” option for the first DAEMON Tools Lite start


Media Format Converters

Format Factory (Windows) [Download]
- I use this, and it is fast, and feature packed! Format Factory is a multifunctional media converter. All to MP4/3GP/MPG/AVI/WMV/FLV/SWF.
All to MP3/WMA/AMR/OGG/AAC/WAV. All to JPG/BMP/PNG/TIF/ICO/GIF/TGA. Rip DVD to video file , Rip Music CD to audio file. MP4 files support iPod/iPhone/PSP/BlackBerry format. Supports RMVB,Watermark, AV Mux.


Media Players

Last.fm (Windows) [Download]
- The more Last.fm learns what you like, the better it gets. Get recommendations for music, videos, free MP3s and concert listings — all based on what you listen to. Plus, listen to non-stop, personalised radio, and of course scrobble!

RealPlayer (Windows, ?) [Download]
- Feature rich, uses more resources. Even has a browser. I used to use this one and have no complaints other than it did more than I needed so I 'downgraded' to VLC (see below). This even converts media to formats supported by your PSP, Mobile, Gaming Console, and more. Like I said, did more than I needed when just playing media. When I need to convert file formats, I just use Format Factory. I think it will even link you to where you can purchase MP3's.

Winamp (Windows) [Download]
- Winamp supports itunes library importing, iPod syncing, and some more features (see dl link for more) I never used it but I think Ix uses it. Maybe he can share his opinion.

Windows Media Player (Windows, Mac [OLD Versions only]) [Download]
- Pretty basic stuff here. Supports Windows own format, of course. Usually installed with Windows OS's. WMP12 is out with Windows 7, otherwise the link will guide you to each version as you wish. Not gonna say much else here...

VLC Media Player (Windows, Mac, Linux) [Download]
- I currently use this one. The cross-platform open-source multimedia framework, player and server VLC media player is a highly portable multimedia player and multimedia framework capable of reading most audio and video formats (MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.264, DivX, MPEG-1, mp3, ogg, aac ...) as well as DVDs, Audio CDs VCDs, and various streaming protocols.


Office Suite

OpenOffice.org (Windows, Mac, Linux) [Download]
- Most of you use Microsoft Office. Did you know there's a FREE fully compatible alternative?! Go check it out. OpenOffice.org 3 is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in many languages and works on all common computers. It stores all your data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages. It can be downloaded and used completely free of charge for any purpose.


RPG Maker Utilities
The following are hosted here at the Mag, so I won't go into detail. Any new ones feel free to post.
Dexplorer
RPGC
RPG Maker Genie
Music Script Maker


System Tools

Dropbox (Windows, Mac, Linux) [Download]
- Dropbox is a file sharing program. Put your files into your Dropbox on one computer, and they'll be instantly available on any of your other computers that you've installed Dropbox on (Windows, Mac, and Linux) Because a copy of your files are stored on Dropbox's secure servers, you can also access them from any computer or mobile device using the Dropbox website. Video demo in spoiler

Macrium Reflect Free Edition (Windows) [Download]
- Create a disk image whilst running Windows using Microsoft Volume Shadow copy Service (VSS). Image to Network, USB, FireWire drives and DVD. Built in scheduler. 32 bit and native 64 bit versions. Industry leading compression levels and speed. Linux based Rescue CD with Network access and full GUI. Only 6.5MB in size! Built in CD/DVD packet writing engine. Supports packet writing to DVD DL media with Windows Vista. HTML log files.

NoviCorp WinToFlash 0.5.0000 beta (Windows) [Download]
- WinToFlash starts a wizard that will help pull over the contents of a windows installation CD or DVD and prep the USB drive to become a bootable replacement for the optical drive. It can alsow do this with your LiveCD.

PSISetup (Windows) [Download]
- Secunia Personal Software Inspector (PSI) Scans all programs in your PC and exposes weak points that could be exploited by malicious individuals. It also checks for security updates for all the programs it scans.

TinySpell (Windows) [Download]
Spell check anywhere. (other than windows explorer)
Occasionally you need to check spelling in an application that does not include a spelling checker and you don't want to launch your word processor just for that. This is when tinySpell becomes handy. It is a small utility that allows you to easily and quickly check and correct the spelling in any Windows application.
tinySpell can watch your typing on the fly and alert you whenever it detects a misspelled word. It can also check the spelling of text that you copy to the clipboard.
tinySpell installs itself in the system tray for easy access.

TrueCrypt 6.3 (Windows, Mac, Linux) [Download]
- Creates a virtual encrypted disk within a file and mounts it as a real disk. Encrypts an entire partition or storage device such as USB flash drive or hard drive. Encrypts a partition or drive where Windows is installed (pre-boot authentication). Encryption is automatic, real-time (on-the-fly) and transparent. Parallelization and pipelining allow data to be read and written as fast as if the drive was not encrypted. Provides plausible deniability, in case an adversary forces you to reveal the password: hidden volume (steganography) and hidden operating system. Encryption algorithms: AES-256, Serpent, and Twofish. Mode of operation: XTS.
*NOTE: TrueCrypt will not currently encrypt entire drives on Windows 7. As of the retail release date of Windows 7, the only way to encrypt an entire drive in a home environment, is to purchase the Ultimate Edition of Windows 7.

WinDirStat (Windows) [Download]
- Windows Directory Statistics (WinDirStat) is a disk usage statistics viewer and cleanup tool for Microsoft Windows (all current variants)


Web Browsers

Google Chrome (Windows, ?) [Download]
- I never used it, so I can't say anything about it. Please post a description.

Internet Explorer (Windows) [Download]
- I am not gonna say anything here. You all know it and mostly all hate it.

Mozilla FireFox (Windows, Mac, Linux, Mobile) [Download]
- Basically a superior browser than IE with far more customization. For some good addons and addon discussion, go here.

Opera (Windows, Mobile, ?) [Download]
- Again more superior to IE and has some unique tools. Easy file sharing, remote media player, built in chat and more. Very nice.


For editing purposes:
Download copy/paste = [size=70][url][Download][/url]

I hope you guys keep in mind that since originally posting this topic, I have tripled its contents. More is still on the way.

Anyway, for the discussion part, in Avast, how the hell do I get it to not notify my with that crazy loud voice that it updated its definitions at 3 am? Scared the hell outta me last night!

This is a good topic, Insult!

Most epic post ever. And to think that it's all legit. I'll have to go through my install folder at home and see if there's anything else I could possibly add.

Just a reminder that I am still updating this.
Feel free to do the same.

I recently had a great experience with dropbox and it made me think how useful it truly would be here.
Lets take Lantis and SK for an example.

Lantis is waiting for SK to get some dialogue done in SoE. Rather than emailing and downloading the files and ending up with multiple versions of the game to keep track of, they could just use dropbox.

With dropbox, if SK alters a file in his DB folder that he shares with Lantis, as soon as there is a change in the file, it is sent to DB servers and then automatically updates the same files on Lantis's PC. Great thing about this is, if you delete something by mistake or save on top of something you didn't want changed (quick note: back your stuff up) then you can just log on to the DB site and see all the recent versions and just download the one you like. Kind of like time machine.

http://www.cccp-project.net/

CCCP > VLC.

I will try that one soon. See if I like it more as well.

I am right now going through the mind numbing task of manually updating all the metadata of my old ebooks for Calibre. It can grab the data from the web for you, but mine are outdated and it is having some issues getting it. I have in the area of 550 Star Trek ebooks that don't have the proper format for searching them. I am already 300+ deep and when I finish I shall weep. And back up my md file.

I have read nearly all the TNG and DS9 books and am about halfway through Voyager as of last year. I doubt I shall read ALL of them but I consider my ~200 sized dent to be an accomplishment in of itself. I do look forward to New Frontier since that is the first ST franchise not based on an existing franchise.

I hope that adding all the metadata to keep them organized through Calibre will help me get through them.