Update Information: July 8, 2013 (part 2) (Updates)
Bonus Notifications (recent releases of free stuff)
Warnings:
- do not install unwanted toolbars, etc.
- alpha releases have new features; crashes and bugs are to be expected
- beta releases have new features; they may contain bugs or crash
- release candidate software may contain minor bugs; crashes are rare
Amanda Network Backup 3.3.4
open source, cross-platform admin tool for network backup
http://www.amanda.org/
Aptana Studio 3.4.1
web software development in an IDE supporting HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, CoffeeScript, Ruby, Rails, PHP and Python
w/ code assist, built-in debugging, Git integration, built-in ftp, and more
http://www.aptana.com/
Autoruns 11.62
displays programs configured to run during system bootup or login, & the Windows processing order
of these programs
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/default.aspx
AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 2013.3349
Free anti-virus, anti-spyware program with excellent protection for Win32/64
http://free.avg.com/us-en/download.prd-afh.line-2013
Avira AntiVir Personal 13.0.0.3737 Free
free; highly-rated antivirus product with very annoying pop-up ads accompanying virus signature updates
http://www.avira.com/en/avira-free-antivirus
Calibre 0.9.38
cross-platform open source ebook manager for all popular ebook readers with format conversion,
news feeds, and integrated e-book viewer
http://calibre-ebook.com/
CCleaner 4.03
free Windows/Mac registry and file optimization/privacy/cleaning tool; thorough and effective
uninstalls programs, system restore, drive wiper, controls startup programs, context menus, etc
http://www.piriform.com/blog/2013/6/25/ccleaner-v403 (announcement)
http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner (CCleaner homepage)
CDT 8.2
open source, fully-featured C/C++ IDE plugin for Eclipse
http://www.eclipse.org/cdt/
Comodo Dragon Internet Browser 27.2
Windows only; free; based on Google's Chrome browser, with improved security and privacy
stops cookies, no web spies, prevents browser download tracking, etc
http://www.comodo.com/home/browsers-toolbars/browser.php
CPU-Z 1.65
free utility to detect all PC hardware & system components
http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php
Data Crow 3.10.2
free, open source media manager/cataloger for movies, books, music, software, etc.
http://www.datacrow.net/ (homepage)
http://sourceforge.net/projects/datacrow/ (project page)
Dr Memory 1.5.1-6
cross-platform (Windows or Linux) 32-bit programmer's aid to detect:
access to uninitialized memory, unaddressable memory (including outside of allocated heap units
and heap underflow and overflow), freed memory, double frees, memory leaks, and on Windows
access to un-reserved thread local storage slots and common GDI API usage errors.
http://code.google.com/p/drmemory/
Eclipse 4.3.0
open source extensible IDE framework supporting plugins for almost all programming languages
w/ syntax highlighting, intellisense, code completion, templates, version control, more
http://www.eclipse.org/ (homepage)
http://download.eclipse.org/eclipse/downloads/drops4/R-4.3-201306052000/ (4.3.0)
Fedora 19
independent Linux distro; desktops: GNOME, KDE, LXDE, Openbox, Xfce; #5 in popularity
http://fedoraproject.org/
FileZilla 3.7.1.1
open source cross-platform ftp client; recommended
http://filezilla-project.org/
https://filezilla-project.org/download.php?show_all=1 (downloads)
Firefox 22.0
popular, free, open source browser
http://www.mozilla.com/ (homepage)
Foxit Reader 6.0.5.0618
free Windows pdf viewer; faster render than Adobe, less bloat; recommended
http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/reader/
FreeFileSync 5.17
open source Win32/64 & Linux folder comparison and synchronization tool; recommended
http://sourceforge.net/projects/freefilesync/
Freemake Video Converter 4.0.2
convert 200+ video formats; cut/join/scale video; rip & burn DVDs; burn Blu-rays, upload to YouTube; more
http://www.freemake.com/free_video_converter/
FrostWire 5.6.2
open source, cross-platform Java-based BitTorrent peer-to-peer (P2P) client
http://www.frostwire.com/
GhostBSD 3.1
BSD-based Linux distro; GNOME, LXDE, Openbox desktops; #54 in popularity
http://www.ghostbsd.org/
Ghostery 2.9.6 for Firefox
Ghostery 1.3.0 for iOS
free browser addon; alerts you about web bugs, ad networks and tracking widgets on every web page you visit;
"See who's tracking your web browsing and block them"
http://www.ghostery.com/download
Gimp 2.8.6
Gnu Image Manipulation Program (GIMP); retouch photos, create drawings & renderings, etc.
http://www.gimp.org/
http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/stable.html (Win download)
Git 1.8.3.2
free, open source distributed version control system
http://git-scm.com/
Glary Utilities 3.6.0.125
free; cleanup, repair, optimize and enhance your privacy & security for Windows
http://www.glaryutilities.com/gu.html
GPU-Z 0.7.2
free utility: information about your video card and GPU
http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/ (info)
http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/2252/techpowerup-gpu-z-v0-7-2/ (download)
HWINFO32/HWINFO64 4.20-1960
free system hardware information tool for Windows, system health monitoring, and benchmarks
http://www.hwinfo.com/ (homepage)
http://www.hwinfo.com/download32.html (download 32-bit)
http://www.hwinfo.com/download64.html (download 64-bit)
ICQ 8.1.6336
audio/video/text chat w/ connectivity to Facebook, Google+, Twitter, etc for desktop & mobile
http://www.icq.com/en
IrfanView 4.36
free image viewer/scanner/printer/converter for Windows with some paint/editing options & many plugins
http://www.irfanview.com/
Jenkins 1.523
cross-platform, open source, continuous integration server for developers
- automates the building/testing process
http://jenkins-ci.org/
KNOPPIX 7.2.0
Debian-based Linux distro; desktops: LXDE (default), GNOME, KDE, Openbox; #31 in popularity
http://www.knoppix.org/
Komodo Edit 8.5.0b1
free cross-platform programmer's editor for JavaScript, Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby and Tcl
http://www.activestate.com/komodo-edit/downloads
Korora 19
Fedora-based Linux distro; GNOME, KDE desktops; #56 in popularity
https://kororaproject.org/
Lcc for Win32/64
small, simple, fast open source C compiler & development tools; Windows-hosted with cross compiling facilities
free for non-commercial use
- version number is unknown
http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~lcc-win32/README (changes)
http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~lcc-win32/ (website + downloads)
MonetDB Feb2013, SP3
a heavy-duty, full-featured, cross-platform, open-source database that is not well-known
http://www.monetdb.org/Home (homepage)
http://www.monetdb.org/Downloads/ReleaseNotes (release notes)
http://www.monetdb.org/Downloads/ (download)
MPlayer for Windows 2013-06-29 (build #117)
open source media player for Windows
http://mulder.dummwiedeutsch.de/home/?page=projects#mplayer
Notepad++ 6.4.2
open source programmer's editor (Windows only)
http://notepad-plus-plus.org/
Opera 15.00
open source web browser; very popular browser for tablets and phones
- this version includes Google's new renderer, Blink, used in Chrome
- the original, standards-compliant Opera renderer has been abandoned
http://www.opera.com/ (homepage)
http://www.opera.com/browser/download/ (download)
OS4 OpenLinux 13.5
Debian/Xubuntu-based Linux distro; XFCE or KDE desktop; #13 in popularity
- this is an update for the LTS commercial version
http://www.os4online.com/
PCLinuxOS 2013.06
independent, rolling-release Linux distro; KDE desktop; #7 in popularity
http://www.pclinuxos.com/
PeaZip 5.0
open source cross-platform file and archive manager; available as portable app also
- create 7Z, ARC, BZ2, GZ, PAQ/ZPAQ, PEA, QUAD/BALZ, TAR, UPX, WIM, XZ, ZIP
- extract 150+ archive types: ACE, ARJ, CAB, DMG, ISO, LHA, RAR, UDF, etc.
http://peazip.sourceforge.net/ (homepage)
http://sourceforge.net/projects/peazip/files/5.0/ (5.0 downloads)
PHP 5.4.17 Stable
PHP is a very popular and practical open source scripting language; it is primarily used for web applications
http://php.net/ (homepage)
phpMyAdmin 4.0.4.1
web admin to view/change MySQL/MariaDB databases; interactive commandline SQL; import/export, etc.
http://www.phpmyadmin.net/home_page/index.php
Puppy Linux -- Lighthouse64 6.02 Beta 2
Puppy is a popular (#10) and easy-to-learn, easy-to-use Linux distribution
Open source, boots from a CD (your Windows installation is unchanged) w/ simple instruction manual
old, slow computers run very well using Puppy's all-in-memory Linux kernel
There are many versions of Puppy available, each with a specific purpose
You don't necessarily use the latest release, you use the version with the software you want
You will need to know how to burn a disk from an ISO image
- Precise Puppy is binary-compatible with Ubuntu LTS 12.04.1
- Wary Puppy is intended to run on older hardware
- Racy Puppy is a mod of Wary Puppy, supporting the newest machines
- Slacko Puppy can use Puppy, Slackware, Salix, or Slacky software repositories
- Fatdog64 is a 64-bit Puppy distro; it is larger than most other Puppys
- Lighthouse is a fully-featured Puppy spin
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=81832 (forum thread)
http://www.lhpup.org/release-lhp.htm#515 (release notes)
http://www.lhpup.org/release/L64-515/ (download)
http://www.lhpup.org/ (Lighthouse homepage)
Python Tools for Visual Studio 2.0 Beta
free, open source Python IDE plugin supporting CPython and IronPython; NumPy & SciPy;
parallel & clustering support; debugging; profiling; more
- this is an *beta* release
http://pytools.codeplex.com/
Qt Creator 2.7.2
open source cross-platform IDE for C/C++ and JavaScript
Features: syntax highlighting for many languages, plugins, version control, code completion, function call tips, more
although the IDE encourages using Qt libraries, the choice is not forced
http://qt.nokia.com/products/developer-tools
http://qt.nokia.com/downloads/downloads#qt-creator (download)
Qt libraries 5.1.0
open source, cross-platform windowing system / GUI builder / C++ library; Windows package includes a Visual Studio add-in
http://qt.nokia.com/downloads
Ruby 2.0.0-p247
popular scripting language, often used with Rails library
http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/
Sandboxie 4.04
free utility (nagware): run/install programs in a safe sandbox that cannot affect your Windows stability/security
http://www.sandboxie.com/ (homepage)
SeaMonkey 2.19
open source, all-in-one Internet suite: browser, email, news feed, newsgroups, IRC chat, & html editor
http://www.seamonkey-project.org/
Skype 6.6.0.106
free cross-platform videophone/phone/instant messenger program
http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/home
SpiderOak 5.0.2
cross-platform online backup, file sync, and cloud-based file sharing
- 2 GB of space for free
https://spideroak.com/
Tails 0.19
Debian-based Linux32 distro; GNOME desktop; #41 in popularity
distro has the goal of providing complete Internet anonymity for the user
https://tails.boum.org/
Task Coach 1.3.30
open source cross-platform desktop todo manager with task or calendar viewing, project tracking, etc
http://www.taskcoach.org/
Thunderbird 17.0.7
Mozilla's excellent open source email program
http://www.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/thunderbird/ (homepage)
Transmission-Qt Win 2.80
open source BitTorrent client for Windows
http://trqtw.sourceforge.net/blog/
TThrottle 7.01
free Windows laptop utility to keep CPU/GPU temperature down by throtttling performance
http://www.efmer.eu/boinc/
UltraVNC 1.1.9.1
open source, cross-platform remote desktop; can view/control Win, Linux, or Mac
http://www.uvnc.com/ (homepage)
http://www.uvnc.com/downloads/ultravnc.html (download)
Vala/Genie 0.20.1 / GTK+ 3.6.4 for Mac
Vala language resembles C# and Genie language resembles Python
the common language compiler outputs OO C code using the GObject library
not yet at version 1.0, but some large apps are written in Vala/Genie
- this is the *stable* branch
http://live.gnome.org/Vala (Vala info)
http://live.gnome.org/Genie (Genie info)
http://www.tarnyko.net/en/
VirtualBox 4.2.16
open source, general-purpose, full virtualizer for x86 and AMD64/Intel64 hardware
runs on Windows, Linux, Macintosh and OpenSolaris as host
install several guest operating systems onto the same computer
http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Guest_OSes (list of guest operating systems)
https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Changelog (changelog)
http://www.virtualbox.org/ (homepage)
WordPress 3.5.2
free, popular, open source website/blog creation using PHP & MySQL w/ many plugins & themes
http://wordpress.org/ (homepage)
XAMPP 1.8.2 for Windows
open source web-server (Apache), SQL database (MySQL) w/ admin, PHP, ftp server, Tomcat, & more
this is probably the easiest way to install a working, web-aware PHP into Windows
http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp-windows.html
Zorin OS 7
Ubuntu-based Linux distro; GNOME or LXDE desktop; #12 in popularity
http://www.zorin-os.com/