I ran across a couple free software titles over the past week, though I haven't tried them yet:
- Cygwin is a Unix-style command interface for the Windows environment, including many Unix tools.
- Xenu's Link Sleuth is a spider program designed to find broken links on web pages. The program should be particularly helpful for this site.
Since I'm an unemployed college student, I'm usually looking for low-cost computer software. And what's more low-cost than free? So, here are some free software titles that I'm already using:
- Leech FTP is the best FTP program I've ever used. It queues downloads, copies links from the clipboard, and has a great interface. The only real drawback is that development of the program has been discontinued, as the developer focuses on a more fully featured downloading client, BitBeamer.
- PuTTY is simply a great telnet client. It keeps an address book, works with SSH, and is highly configurable.
- VNC allows you to remotely connect to any Unix-based or Windows computer (and possibly others too)where the VNC server is running. I often use it in my room to work on the Linux systems on campus or, on occasion, to work on the system in my room from other computers around campus. Note: this program can easily be used to freak out unsuspecting roommates.
- AbiWord is a developing replacement for Microsoft Word. It still has some bugs to work out, but it works fairly well as a replacement right now. It easily reads and writes most Microsoft Word documents. Also check out Open Office for a Microsoft Office alternative.
Those are most of the obscure free apps I use. One that needs no introduction is WinAmp. If you don't mind ads, also check out Opera, Eudora, and ACDSee. You don't have to pay a lot for a great program.
