Freeware Links
Highly recommended free software
Here I present selected software that is not only worth to be known and used - it is simply great and useful software!You won't find here useless software - I only recommend software that I use by myself and that has a high practical benefit. All programs have been tested (also under security aspects) before they appear here.The software is NOT of the type shareware, nagware or crippleware - it has full functionality and is simply FREE! How that? There are a lot of independent developers that don't program for the major software companies. Some of the software is also open source and sometimes the programs are hard to find.The programs are not to be downloaded
from TheJazzPage directly - I just link to the download locations. Notice also: | ||
this time:Product
name, preview & | Original
description | My
commentary |
| ||
van
Basco's Karaoke Player
OS:
Windows 95/98/ME/NT4/2000/XP | "vanBasco's
Karaoke Player plays MIDI Karaoke files. Lyrics can be displayed in full-screen.
You can change and recall tempo, volume, and key of a song, and mute or solo instruments.
Best of all: our player is totally ad-free freeware" | I
already use this midi player for a long time - it´s an offline and online
midiplayer, very fast and has many features that are helpful especially for musicians
(changing key, tempo, muting instruments) - it also uses playlists and has a piano
window. |
Audacity
OS:
Windows/MAC OS9/X/Linux/Unix | "Audacity
is a free audio editor. You can record sounds, play sounds, import and export
WAV, AIFF, and MP3 files, and more. Use it to edit your sounds using Cut, Copy
and Paste (with unlimited Undo), mix tracks together, or apply effects to your
recordings. It also has a built-in amplitude envelope editor, a customizable spectrogram
mode and a frequency analysis window for audio analysis applications. Built-in
effects include Bass Boost, Wahwah, and Noise Removal, and it also supports VST
plug-in effects." | This
open source program seems to beat many other audio editors. Under a well designed
surface there are many functions that you´ll find only in commercial software
products (i.e. VST-plugins are supported, effects like noise removing, fade in/out
and more, creating and editing MP3's). |
Quick
Mixer
OS:
Windows | "Quick
Mixer ... | Are
you also tired of using mixer programs that use a lot of screen space and memory
for such a simple task: only keep an eye on the audio settings and adjusting them
from time to time? The best solution I found is that little mixer program that
is very flexible and does a very good job! The programmer has stopped the development recently but I think there is no need to do much more. |
Power
Ripper
OS:
Windows | "Acest program poate transfera melodiile de pe CD-urile audio in format WAV sau MP3. Foloseste pentru codarea MP3 encoderul LAME. Acest ripper este unul dintre cele mai mici dintre cele exstente pentru Windows. Doar ~500Kb. Performantele lui sunt: suporta 96, 128, 160, 192, 256, 320 kbs; corectia erorilor; moduri auditie: Mono, Doua canale, Stereo, Joint Stereo; calitate: Mare, Normala, Mica, Voce; redare CD-uri audio. De asemenea poate transforma fisierele WAV in MP3" (No, that´s no joke, it´s romanian language) | The
fastest cd ripper I could find - it just takes 1/3 of the time other programs
(like CDex or EAC) need to rip a cd or single songs to wav or mp3 files. Unfortunately
the program's language is (still) in romanian. But it's not so hard to find out
what's meant with the options. (You will need an encoder for ripping to the mp3 format - the free Lame encoder for example) |
TrayPlay
OS:
Windows | "Chime Tray Play is a very small, fast, and efficient audio player that can play audio CDs, MIDI, WAV audio, MPEG audio, and Windows Media Audio files. Tray Play's icon is displayed in the system tray and can be used to select and play songs. With features such as Auto-Hide, Play-On-Start, Random-Play, and Non-stop Play, Tray Play turns your computer into a music system that plays your favorite songs on and on while you work. You don't need to bother about creating playlists or loading files. Just click a file and Tray Play will automatically hide, play that file, and then continue to serially or randomly play any other files in the same folder." | Wow!
Only 37Kb and doing all the jobs I have been looking for a long time: playing
midis, mp3´s and other audio files from a choosen dirctory automatically
without first having to make a playlist (also non-stop or randomly if you like).
with volume slider, clickable progress bar. Please encourage the people of Chime
to complete the next version (also planned: playing of video-files). |
Jazz++
OS:
Windows + Linux | "JAZZ++
is a full featured, audio capable midi sequencer for Linux and Windows. JAZZ++
offers a lot of functions normally only found in expensive sequencer software,
and is used by professionals and hobby musicians all over the world. | This
sequencer is all what you need for occational editing/building midi files. The
open source program has powerful functions and does a really good job - not only
it's name should inspire you to use it! |
Timidity++
OS:
Windows, OS2, BEOS | "Timidity++ is a free midi player with excellent sound quality. The sound quality is achieved by using a GUS patch set. GUS patches are made from digitized recordings of real instruments. Timidity++ is maintained (honed and polished) by Masanao Izumo." | This
open source program is not just another midi player - it uses GUS patches (similar
to sf2-soundfonts) and therefore it has a much better sound than the Microsoft
midi synth. So if you don't have a wavetable soundcard (like Soundblaster Live
or Audigy) you can use this player to achieve a real good sound that is near to
a wavetable card. Although it is mentioned that it may not work under XP I tried
it - and it does work! Don't forget to download the patches too (perhaps you also have to change the path in the timidity.cfg). |
Synthfont
OS:
Windows 98, NT, 2K, XP | "SynthFont – the MIDI file SoundFont player Description Using
SynthFont | With
this program you don't need a wavetable soundcard to achieve high-quality midi
sound! While Timidity (see above) uses GUS-patches this one uses the more common
sf2-Soundfonts which are also presented in the soundfont section of this site.
Synthfont is still a beta program but it's already working very well! |
Volumouse
OS:
Windows 98, NT, ME, 2K, XP | "Volumouse
provides you a quick and easy way to control the sound volume on your system -
simply by rolling the wheel of your wheel mouse. | Rather
usefull tool to control the sound volume in any situation (runs in the background
and requires wheel mouse and soundcard of course)! |
| ||
XnView
OS:Windows/Linux
x86/FreeBSD x86/Solaris sparc/Solaris x86/Irix mips/ HP-UX/AIX | "...
a software to view and convert graphic files, really simple to use ! Support of
more than 360 graphics formats ! It's free, so do not hesitate!" | I
was impressed when I first discovered this program. It has (nearly) the same features
as ACDSEE - so you can use it for acquiring, organizing, viewing and enhancing
pictures of any format. It has a dia show, a function to create contact sheets,
filters for editing and many layout options. |
| ||
n.player
OS:
Windows98, 2000, XP | "n.player
is powerful media player. It is free without any limitation, ads or spyware. plays:
audio-cd, dvd, any codec based media e.g. mp3, wma, divx,
module files like s3m, it, xm using mikIT library, m3u playlists | You
are looking for a light-weight media-player that has all the features you need
and plays many formats (DVD, CD, wav, mp3, mid, and movies: avi, mpg, wma, asf,
divx and many more) ??? |
Media
Player Classic
OS:
Windows 9x, ME, 2000, XP | no
description of the author available, sorry ... | Are
you also annoyed of having to use a special program for each multimedia format
and can you imagine that there is a multimedia player that draughts ALL formats? |
| ||
PowerPro
| "Windows
PowerPro lets you take control of how you use Windows 95/98/NT/2000. Run commands
and configure your system any way you want. PowerPro gives you a compact and powerful launch bar, menu, and tray icon facility. But this is just the start. With a little experimenting with its configuration, you'll find that you can use PowerPro to change the way you work with your Windows system. The source of its power is the way PowerPro integrates three capabilities: Running commands: Tool bars, tray icons, hot keys, mouse actions, menus, timer, scheduler. Controlling other program's windows: Close, minimize, maximize, roll-up to caption, tray minimize, position. Providing utility functions: Send keystrokes to programs, run commands when windows first open, virtual desktops, clipboard extender, keyboard macros, shutdown, show all folder files in a menu, sounds, wallpaper, and screensaver activation and randomization." | One
of the most powerful and flexible programs I have seen in 20 years, really !!!
I'm using power pro already for a long time. It's not only a (full customizable)
task bar, it replaces many other utilities you might have on your pc. One single
button can be set up with many functions including controlling programs and the
Windows OS in many ways: opening menus, running own scripts, virtual desktops,
multi-clipboard, sticky notes, showing memory usuage - you can set timers, reminders,
special mouse commands, switch to transparent windows and put several independent
task bars wherever you like and and and .... - there are so many functions I cannot
describe here. You will have complete control over your pc and if you are a power user you will use Power Pro many times every day. Highest ratings for this free program!. |
Rainlendar
OS:
Windows | "Rainlendar
is a very customizable calendar that resides on your desktop and shows the days
of the current month. The application is a Litestep plugin, but it can be used
without the Litestep as well. You can use it even with the normal Explorer-shell
if you like. The calendar can be customized to fit your taste (and theme). You can use different fonts and colors, select the background image or just use copy of the current wallpaper." | Rainlendar
! the coolest Calender program I've seen before! Resides on your desktop (can
also be hidden) just click on a date and write something to it- Rainlender keeps
it - fully customizeable (background, skins, fonts, colors). |
2xExplorer
OS:
95/98/NT/2000/XP | "2xExplorer
is a fusion between the efficient dual-pane file management format of yesteryear
and the intuitive tree/content pane format of modern operating systems. It aims
to deliver the best of both worlds, without pledging allegiance to either of the
two prototypes. You may regard it as an explorer on steroids, with an additional
pane for browsing folder contents side to side. Apart for this extra pane, 2xExplorer
fills in many glaring omissions in the windows Explorer: ·
Filters (wildcard based) | You
are still working with MS Explorer ??? Forget it !!! This program even beats the No. 1 file manager "Power Desk" concerning some functions !!! You will get productivity and flexibility with one 2-pane file manager - and it's totally free! |
KeyNote
OS:
95/98/NT/2000/XP | "Keynote
is a flexible, multi-featured tabbed notebook, based on Windows standard RichEdit
control. It's always acessible with a single keypress, even if you work in another
application. It's certainly more fun to use than pen and paper! A large number
of text formatting functions allows you to create very readable, clear, and well-organized
notes. The basic idea in KeyNote is that you can have many separate notes within a single file. This means that you do not need to open several files - for most purposes it is enough to create only one file and several notes inside it. With the addition of the tree-type notes, you now have a three-dimensional notebook: many notes within one file and a multi-level, nested pages within a single note. (Read more about KeyNote files) Optionally, KeyNote can encrypt your data securely using the Blowfish or Idea algorithms. Keynote's interface and behavior are extremely configurable. KeyNote is as simple to use as any text editor, but if you want, you can use many advanced functions that KeyNote offers, such as sending notes via email, glossary, hyperlinks, macros, styles, plugins, virtual nodes, and much more." | This
is not just another editor that supports rich text format - it is a personal information
manager! You can create notes and structure them in a tree view - notes can contain
text, weblinks, pictures, links to files - and all notes reside in one or more
files that even can be encrypted. It also supports templates, macros and plug-ins.
A very useful and free program (open source)! |
ExitWindows
OS:
all Windows OS | "Exit
Windows is a small tool that allows you to - log off - reboot your computer - switch to standby mode - enter hibernation mode - shutdown windows" | Very
usefull little programm! Perform the different actions with one click! It even
allows hibernating on XP and can be used from a command line with parameters -
including setting the wait time from 0 to 2147483647 seconds - that´s 68
years! :-) |
Columnizer
OS:
all Windows OS | "Columnizer
is a special program for working with column and row data." Functions: Attempt to realign HTML, Insert into a column of data, Insert a column of data, Copy a column of data, Retain / Delete a column of data, Replace data within a column, Insert spread sheet separation character, Insert a row, Delete a row of data, Delete blank lines Attempt to realign HTML, Insert into a column of data, Insert a column of data, Copy a column of data, Retain / Delete a column of data, Replace data within a column, Insert spread sheet separation character, Insert a row, Delete a row of data, Delete blank lines, Retain / Delete lines per data, Insert lines per data, Insert a carrage control, Vertical column concatenation, Insert incrementing letters, Replace line per data, Horizontal column concatenation, Append lines per data, Retain / Delete starting at specified data, Insert data within line Before / After specified data, Replace data with a top-down data list, Align all data into columns, Shuffle data, Find and mark duplicate lines, Replace with special characters, Insert incrementing numbers, Delete leading / trailing blanks, Format for ReadMe, Special Routines, Sort Ascending / Descending and Reverse order, Convert data to Courier font, Total a specified column, Break up file records, Replace any character within a file" | Extremely
helpful tool when you have to edit any text data, for example: preparing unformatted
text strings so that they can be used as data records in a data base. This tool
saves a lot of time because it prevents you from editing data manually and makes
it even possible to use the data for specific purposes you might not have thought
of ... |
Flexible
Renamer
OS:
all Windows OS | "A
file/folder renaming utility, which can use Wildcard or Regular-Expression and
Tag-information (MP3, EXIF) - Functions: > Rename (Copy/Move) object (file/folder) · Insert Number or String (Timestamp, FileName) · Remove Number or String (Shortcut to, Copy (n) of, [n], (n)), 8.3 Format, · Translate Letters (upper/lower- case, capitalize) · Replace String · Other flexible rename using pattern matching. · Direct-editing of target name. > Rename(Copy/Move) using tag information ID3(MP3),EXIF, IPTC, MS-Office, HTML > Modify object(file/folder) attributes and time-stamps. · Specify DateTime, Shift, Random Generate, Make the Same. > Create numbered object(sized file/folder)." | This
free japanese program (comes with an english language module) is a very powerful
mass file renamer - the best one you can find! It even can handle mp3-tags and
Exif-files from your digital cam. The many options seem to be compli- cated, but it's easy to use (compared to other pro- grams of this kind). You will like it! |
Edit
Pad Lite
OS:
all Windows OS + Linux | "EditPad
Lite is a general-purpose text editor, designed to be small and compact, yet offer
all the functionality you expect from a basic text editor. EditPad Lite works
with Windows 95, NT4, 98, 2000, ME and XP. The Linux version is available separately." | What?
You are still working with Windows Notepad for every day text editing? Take this one: fast, as many tabbed files in one window as you like, no limited filesize, much more functions than notepad has (i.e. unlimited undo/redo, block functions etc.) ... I´m already using it for some years ... |
| ||
Xteq
X-Setup
OS:
all Windows OS | "Xteq
X-Setup is a so-called "hacker" or "tweaker" program. It allows
you to change settings that are normally hidden deeply in some configuration-files
like the registry fast and easily. X-Setup offers several
advantages, making it the "ultimate tool for black belt system tuning".
It's runs on any Windows version (incl. XP), is clutter-free, easy to use, extensible,
powerful, covers any aspect of your computer and has more configuration options
than any other tweaker." | Forget
all the other tweakers you may find - X-Setup does the same and is free for home use (shareware for commercial use). |
Regmon
OS:
Windows (all versions) | "Regmon
is a Registry monitoring utility that will show you which applications are accessing
your Registry, which keys they are accessing, and the Registry data that they
are reading and writing - all in real-time. This advanced utility takes you one
step beyond what static Registry tools can do, to let you see and understand exactly
how programs use the Registry. With static tools you might be able to see what
Registry values and keys changed. With Regmon you'll see how the values and keys
changed.. Regmon works on Windows NT/2000/XP, .NET Server 2003 (RC2 and higher), Windows 95/98/Me and Windows 64-bit/Itanium." | You
want to know which programs and how programs access the Windows Registry? Just run this tiny program and you will see how your system is working in the background. Very good for finding errors (missing registry keys), detecting spy programs and many other purposes! You just klick on a line and your registry editor opens ... (be sure to download the right version for your operating system) |
Filemon
OS:
Windows (all versions), Linux | "Filemon
monitors and displays file system activity on a system in real-time. Its advanced
capabilities make it a powerful tool for exploring the way Windows works, seeing
how applications use the files and DLLs, or tracking down problems in system or
application file configurations. Filemon's timestamping feature will show you
precisely when every open, read, write or delete, happens, and its status column
tells you the outcome. Filemon is so easy to use that you'll be an expert within
minutes. It begins monitoring when you start it, and its output window can be
saved to a file for off-line viewing. It has full search capability, and if you
find that you're getting information overload, simply set up one or more filters. Filemon works on NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows XP 64-bit Edition, Windows 2003 Server, Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows ME. Sysinternals also has a version of Filemon for Linux" | See
which files are currently open on your System and see what they are doing! This tool from Sysinternals is very useful for problem solving on your PC ! (be sure to download the right version for your operating system) |
TCPView
OS:
Windows (98/ME/NT/2000/XP) | "TCPView
is a Windows program that will show you detailed listings of all TCP and UDP endpoints
on your system, including the local and remote addresses and state of TCP connections.
On Windows NT, 2000 and XP TCPView also reports the name of the process that owns
the endpoint. TCPView provides a more informative and conveniently presented subset
of the Netstat program that ships with Windows. TCPView works on Windows NT/2000/XP and Windows 98/Me." | Detect
the currently opened network/internet connections with their port numbers (local
and remote) and decide what you do with them - for instance: kill a process that an intruder has initiated. Not a real firewall (no automatic blocking) but a way to realize whether you need one! |
Startup
Control Panel
OS:
Windows 95, 98, 98SE, ME, NT 4.0, 2000, and XP | "Startup
Control Panel is a nifty control panel applet that allows you to easily configure
which programs run when your computer starts. It's simple to use and, like all
my programs, is very small and won't burden your system. A valuable tool for system
administrators!" | This
control panel resides in your windows control panel and controls the windows startup
folder as well as the specific registry keys that may contain autostart programs
that you probably don't want to have running (for example: spyware programs).
You cannot only delete them but also deactivate them temporarily and switch them
on when you need them again. |
Process
Explorer
OS:
Windows 95, 98, 98SE, ME, NT 4.0, 2000, and XP
works
together with: If you have installed the Windows Support Tools from Microsoft you already have it - if not download it here: OS: Win95/98/ME/NT/2k/XP Version 2.1 (415 KB zipfile) | "Ever
wondered which program has a particular file or directory open? Now you can find
out. Process Explorer shows you information about which handles and DLLs processes
have opened or loaded. The Process Explorer display consists of two sub-windows. The top always shows a list of the currently active processes, including the names of their owning accounts, whereas the information displayed in the bottom window depends on the mode that Process Explorer is in: if it is in handle mode you’ll see the handles that the process selected in the top window has opened; if Process Explorer is in DLL mode you’ll see the DLLs and memory-mapped files that the process has loaded. Process Explorer also has a powerful search capability that will quickly show you which processes have particular handles opened or DLLs loaded. The unique capabilities of Process Explorer make it useful for tracking down DLL-version problems or handle leaks, and provide insight into the way Windows and applications work." | Make your system transparent with this program! It shows all running processes with their handles or DLL's. When there is a problem with my system I use Process Explorer at first! If the Dependency Walker is also installed you also will see all dependent modules with detailed information. |
Aida32
| "AIDA32
is a professional system information, diagnostics and benchmarking program running
on Win32 platforms. It extracts details of all components of the PC. It can display
information on the screen, print it, or save it to file in various formats like
HTML, CSV or XML. For corporate users, AIDA32 offers command-line switches, network
audit and audit statistics, remote system information and network management." | For
sysadmins and all who want to know what's going on on your system ! It comes in 3 versions: enterprise edition, personal edition, network edition - and all are free! |
| ||
EWrama
OS:
Windows | "EWrama
è il sistema per comunicazione audio/video punto-punto ad altissima qualità
anche ai bassi bitrates, che può essere utilizzato stand-alone oppure come
estensione multimediale di qualsiasi sistema di messaging e chat con estrema facilità." (italian original text) | Establish
video conferences via the Internet with video and sound ! Here is a simple little and free program that does it in really good quality using a point-to-point internet connection. After you've gone online you just look for your present IP address in the config menu and submit it via icq or another way to the one you would like to meet with. He/she puts that IP adress into a call window and after hitting "ok" you are connected! Video size: 352x288 or 176x144, video and sound quality adjustable, just one 521kb small exe-file! |
GreenBrowser
OS:
Windows | "GreenBrowser
is a multiple windows browser. It is based on IE, and have more other powerful
features. Such as: | Although
MS Internet Explorer is not the best and most user-friendly browser it has one
advantage: since 90% are using it you can build a webpage without the problems of making it compatible with more browsers - the differances between IE and Netscape have been a horror for webdesigners, since they sometimes behave very different. I've tested many browsers so far, but after I had tested Greenbrowser I must say that it is 1) much more user friendly than IE, 2) has more useful functions (tabbed windows,built in pop-upstopper, scrolling, .....) and 3) the pages load exactly like in IE. So you have a really better browser without having to make compromises regarding compatibility. |
Net
Transport
OS:
Win98/Win98SE/WinME/Win2000/ WinXP/Win2003 | "Net
Transport is a fast and powerful download tool. You may use it to download files
from Internet servers. Net Transport now supports HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, MMS (Microsoft
Media Services) and RTSP (Real-Time Streaming Protocol) - five protocols used
to transfer data. It can use multiple threads to download files (this feature
is supported for HTTP, FTP, MMS and RTSP protocols). If a sites allows multithreaded
downloads, you can expect much faster speeds. This is especially effective for
MMS streams, because they use a fixed transmission speed and loading several streams
of the same file fully uses your Internet bandwidth. RTSP also can use multiple
threads to shorten download time, in addition, you can check "Streaming/Delivery
Bandwidth" to use TurboPlay feature of RealNetworks to accelerate delivery." | A
fast, powerful and easy to use download manager with integrated file manager,
drop zone, site explorer, browser click monitoring for IE, support for many protocols,
download of password-protected files and many more features. What would you ask
more? |
Crescendo
Midi & MP3 plugin
OS:
all Win | You will
have problems to get it since it has been discontinued. | The
Crescendo/Live Update plugin is probably still the best choice for playing midis
or mp3's on websites. It handles midifiles very well and even can detach from
the browser. |
| ||
Matchhead
OS:
all Windows OS | "Match
Head is a free utility created for the purpose of matching colors. Made with the
web designer in mind, it converts RGB/HSB values to hexadecimal values and can
match any color you have on your screen.... ...match any color you see on your screen. It doesn't matter if it's on a web site, an image, your cool little icon, or the Photoshop splash screen" | Very
helpful tool for webdesigners to experiment with matching colors. |
Eye
Dropper
OS:
all Windows OS | "Primary
task: | This
handy little tool is not only a color picker, it also measures distances in pixels
and allows capturing of screens or parts of it - and: the program has only 27
KB!! |
Cool
Ruler | "-
Very easy to use with your existing programs. - Measurements can be set for Inches, Pixels & Centimeters. - Create as many rulers on your screen as you need. - Adjust the angle of the ruler to a vertical or horizontal position. - Works with DOS and Windows programs" | Nothing
more to say except that it's easy to use and very helpful ... |
