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Computer Software

 A-Prompt Version 1.0.6.0 checked. WAI level 'double A'D


Recommended Software

  • Programs listed are considered effective and, in the authors’ opinion, among the best of their type, many of which we presently use. Several are offered in some areas. However, others not listed may better suit an individual user.
  • no outright recommendation is given for any program. Individuals must make their own decision.
  • Programs are, wherever possible, Freeware or shareware, thus minimising costs.
  • Always look for the latest version of the program.
  • Programs can be found on computer magazine discs, developer’s home pages, Freeware or shareware sites.
  • Freeware programs :
    • are Free to use;
    • Some are limited to being Free for personal use only.
    • Some have advertisements incorporated into them. Many are not obtrusive, others are. You have to decide whether you can “put up” with them or not.
    • Some include other programs. It is our belief these should be avoided.
    • Some Freeware programs are described as ‘lite’. They have many [but not all] of a Fee-based program’s features. For most, they provide all that is needed.
  • shareware programs are usually :
    • provided Free in the belief you will pay if you continue using them, i.e. authors trust you to pay;
    • have time limitations that give a fair trial, e.g. 15 or 30 days before ceasing operation;
    • have limitations until purchased, e.g. can’t save, restrict numbers in any operation, have watermarks, … .
  • You are asked to honour this.
  • plug-ins are not listed. Most link to Fee-based programs.
  • games are not included as :
    • there are too many;
    • people have distinctly different interests and tastes, and;
    • the best games have significant price tags.
  • For those who do not wish to “install” programs, or prefer to use ‘portable’ programs [on a USB stick], we have indicated these where we are aware of them. These will allow you to take them with you for use on any machine, as well as not impacting on the registry.
  • With USB, ensure you are aware of the U3 requirements of some portable programs. U3 programs require a U3 capable USB stick for the programs to work.
  • All programs listed are Freeware unless otherwise indicated.

Recommended Programs

    Internet & eMail

  • Cyberduck
    An Open Source FTP and SFTP browser for Mac OS X.
  • Firefox
    Internet browser. More secure at this time than Internet Explorer.
    Now also available as a portable program.
  • Free Download Manager
    Quick, easy to use, resumes downloads, …
  • FileZilla
    Reliable, very quick and has a lot of features for an FTP program.
    Now also available as a portable program.
  • Google
    Search Engine. Also check Toolbar and Desktop.
  • HTTrack
    ‘Allows you to download a World Wide Web site from the Internet to a local directory, building recursively all directories, getting HTML, images, and other files from the server to your computer.’
  • Internet Explorer
  • IE7Pro
    ‘Includes a lot of features and tweaks to make your IE friendlier, more useful, secure and customisable.’

    Graphics

  • GIMP for Windows
    Links to Gimp for other operating systems, support resources and downloads. If you want a Photoshop replacement, then you might try Gimpshop .
  • Irfan View
    Graphics viewer and basic editor.
  • Paint.net
    Full featured replacement for MS Paint. Includes layers. Requires Net Framework 2.0 and XP SP2 for the latest version. Also has Tutorials & Forum.
  • Photoplus
    Graphics program from Serif Software with many options.
    You do need to register, though this is free.

    Miscellaneous

  • Clock Tray Skins Lite
    Make the clock work for you with time, day, date, 12/24 hour choice, multiple skins and more.
  • Cogitum Cociter
    Select & record excerpts from web pages to create bibliographies/footnotes.
  • Convert
    Converts most measurements quickly and easily. You can even create your own custom conversion process.
    Now also available as a portable program.
  • EditPad Lite
    Notepad replacement. Tabbed document windows and a range of capacities too long to mention.
    Now also available as a portable U3 program.
  • eTextReader
    ‘This program lets you read plain text files - e.g. eTexts as provided by Project Gutenberg - in a book-like manner. Window size, font style and font size are selectable; page breaks are inserted automatically.’
    Available as a portable program.
  • Mayura Chess Board
    Chess game. Multiple levels and assistance. If you are looking for a portable program, try Nagaskaki .
  • PNotes
    Small, fast, optional transparency and lots of skins to use.
    Available as a portable program.
  • Open Office
    The best replacement for MS Office.
  • Scribus
    ‘Scribus is an open-source program that brings award-winning professional page layout to Linux/Unix, MacOS X, OS/2 and Windows desktops. Scribus supports professional publishing features, such as CMYK color, separations, ICC color management and versatile PDF creation.’
    Also available as a portable program.

    Multimedia

  • Audacity Player
    Audio player and editor. Will record, edit, convert, mix sounds, change
    speeds, …
    Now also available as a portable program.
  • iTunes
    Buy, download, organise and play music. Mac & PC.
  • Super
    Converts a huge range of formats, both audio and video including for iPod and mobile phone.
  • VLC Player
    ‘VLC media player is a highly portable multimedia player for various audio and video formats as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. It doesn’t need any external codec or program to work.’
    Now also available as a portable program.

    Security

  • AVG Anti-Virus
    ‘AVG Free offers very good [and very free] protection against viruses and spyware … As a bonus, its real-time LinkScanner technology keeps you from clicking search links to dangerous sites.’
  • Comodo Anti Virus
    ‘Comodo Antivirus has all the functionality of a paid AV without the price - it’s free forever !’
  • Comodo Personal Firewall
    Requires Win2000 or XP SP2 to operate. High on performance but may worry beginners.
  • Microsoft Windows Defender
    Still Free, but requires Windows XP SP2.
  • Sunbelt Personal Firewall
    Provides good protection and does not seem to cause many problems in doing so. Fee-based.
    Previously Kerio Firewall.

    System Utilities

  • Comodo Backup
    Requires Win2000 SP3 or XP SP2 to operate. High performance, scheduling, folder synchronisation, …
  • Eraser
    ‘Allows you to completely remove sensitive data from your hard drive by overwriting it multiple times with carefully selected patterns.’
    Now also available as a portable program.
  • Flash Player
    For ‘Flash’ presentations. Now owned by Adobe.
  • Free Commander
    Dual panel Windows Explorer replacement. Unzips files, synchronises, …
    Now also available as a portable program.
  • PC Wizard
    ‘Among the most advanced system information programs on the market. PC WIZARD is a powerful utility designed especially for detection of hardware, but also some more analysis.’.
    Also usable as a portable program.
  • PDF-Xchange Viewer
    ‘View, Print, Export Text & Images and add content to PDF files. Includes Help files and Manual.’
    Now also available as a portable program.
  • PDFTK [Toolkit]
    Merge or split .pdf files, attach files to PDF pages, apply watermarks and much more with PDF files.
    Also available as a portable program.
  • Process Library
    ‘Uniblue’s Free and comprehensive online Process Library resource is for anyone who immediately wants to know the exact nature and purpose of any and every single process that is - or should not be - running on your PC.’ Has downloadable Process Scanner to activate information and checking.
  • Revo Uninstaller
    ‘Revo Uninstaller is a much faster and more powerful alternative to “Windows Add or Remove Programs” applet.’
    Also available as a portable program.
  • Shockwave Player
    Interactive presentations. Now owned by Adobe.
  • SnagIt
    No one else makes a screen capture utility like this one. It is Not Freeware but is well worth the very reasonable cost.
  • Startup Control Panel
    Take complete control of what does and doesn’t start with windows, with an very easy process.
  • System Information for Windows
    This program provides you with a wealth of information about everything to do with your system and doesn’t need “system installation” to run on Windows computers.
    Now also available as a portable program.
  • Widgets - masses of gadgets that sit on your desktop and provide information on everything from blogs to weather :
    • Apple Dashboard
      Widgets for use with the dashboard. These range from NewsCloud to NatiGeo and beyond. Searchable database of widgets to choose from.
    • Mac Widgets
      ‘A collection of [ ] my dashboard widgets for Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger’s Dashboard.’ A limited collection.
    • Yahoo Widgets
      First, download the Widget engine [including several widgets], then go to the Gallery for your choice of hundreds of additional widgets that suit your needs. For both Windows and MacOS X.
  • WordToys
    ‘Over 40 tools that make Microsoft Word easier to use and more fun to work with. Tabbed documents, auto-backups, unlimited doc history, and unique formatting and editing features’. The Personal edition is Free but it is
    Not Freeware if you wish to access all possible features. Integrates into MS Word but only for Word 2000 and later.
  • Xsearch
    Desktop search program. Fast, small, doesn’t need to install, multiple options for your search, also searches hexadecimal files. You can even save searches to file.
  • Zipgenius
    Zip and unzip material in a vast array of formats.

    Webmaster

  • Absolute Color Picker
    Choose and adjust any colour you want via a multiplicity of methods.
  • First Page 2006
    HTML editor and site manager including absolute code control. Good, but obviously no longer being developed.

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Other Suitable Programs

    Internet & eMail

  • AM-Deadlink
    Bookmark/favourites scanner to see which are now ‘dead links or duplicates’.
  • Eudora
    Email client.
  • FTP Commander
    Simple but effective FTP program which still does everything you need.
  • ICQ
    Chat program.
  • K9 Web Protection
    Filter what is seen via this web based service. Customisable options.
  • Messenger Plus
    A ‘better messenger’.
  • PocketKnife Peek
    ‘An Outlook add-in for screening your e-mail as plain text before opening it in Outlook.’
  • YPoPs !
    ‘Emulates a POP3 server and enables popular email clients like Outlook, Netscape, Eudora, Mozilla, etc., to download email from Yahoo! accounts. It is available on the Windows, Linux, Solaris and Mac platforms’.

    Graphics

  • Easy Thumbnails
    Graphics viewer
  • JAlbum
    [Requires Java runtime 1.4 [1.4+]]
    ‘Makes web albums of your digital images. … JAlbum runs on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and others and speaks 29 languages.’
  • Painter 25
    Fully featured - backdrops, effects, filters, optimizer, layers, drawing tools, multiple brushes and more.
  • Rahman Imager
    Fully featured including layers, filters, artistic colourisation, special effects, tools, optimizers and more. Not Freeware, but cheap.

    Miscellaneous

  • Access Manager
    [Requires MS Net Framework 1.1]
    Password storage & generator.
  • AT Notes
    Post-It Notes. No longer being developed but still among the best.
  • Microsoft eBook Reader
    Ebook Reader. Proprietary format.
  • Nvu
    An HTML editor and site manager for beginners through to those with advanced skills.
  • Virtual PC
    Free from Microsoft. Allows you ‘to run multiple operating systems at the same time on the same physical computer. Switch between virtual machines with the click of a button.’
  • TheOpenCD
    ‘Is a collection of high quality Free and Open Source Software. The programs run in Windows and cover the most common tasks such as word processing, presentations, email, web browsing, web design, and image manipulation.’

    Multimedia

  • DivX
    Audio and video viewer codec.
  • Quicktime
    Viewer. Used for streaming video.
  • Winamp
    MP3 & media player. Skinnable.
  • YBook
    Paperback emulator for text-based ebooks. Australian.

    Security

    System Utilities

  • 101 Screen Shots
    ‘Get your point across immediately with a screen shot, splash text and clip art arrows’.
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader
    Read .pdf documents.
  • Belarc Advisor
    ‘Builds a detailed profile of your installed software and hardware, missing Microsoft hotfixes, anti-virus status, Center for Internet Security benchmarks, and displays the results in your Web browser.’
  • Calculator.Net
    [Requires MS Net Framework 2.0]
    ‘An enhanced version of the standard calculator in Microsoft Windows. Some of the enhancements included : RPN, extended function set, and customizable user interface.’
  • Copernic Desktop Search
    Desktop search program. Easy to use and works with earlier versions of Windows.
  • Bullzip PDF
    Transfer printable items into PDF format. Requires Ghostscript file [available through the site].
  • Disclib
    Keeps the file/directory structure of backup discs on a database on your hard drive so you know where everything can be found..
  • Excalibur Calculator
    [Now has a new version]
    Multi-capacity calculator.
  • FastStone Capture
    The nearest Free program to SnagIt. If you don’t want to pay for a program this is the absolute next best. Now has scrolling window capture.
  • Foxit PDF Reader
    Quick, lots of options and doesn’t need “system installation” to run on Windows computers.
  • Gadwin PrintScreen
    Screen capture program.
  • Karen’s Power Tools
    Utilities of high quality, including a Countdown tool, Power Toys, Replicator, a Calculator, …
  • WinZip
    Zip program. Not Freeware, Shareware.
  • x1 Desktop Search
    very powerful program. Shows results in a really clear way.

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