Freeware Alternative List (2009/10)

Okay, I'm lazy and the list isn't done yet. So change of plans: The updated list will be done when it's done. :p I'm still working on it, I'm just being slow.

Anyways, I haven't posted any new programs for a few weeks. So here you go:

All of these services provide some amount of free online storage.

Backup and Synchronization -> Online Storage:

DropBox (Online) - http://www.dropbox.com/

Gladinet (Online) - http://www.gladinet.com/

iFolder (Online) - http://www.ifolder.com/ifolder

Live Mesh (Online) - https://www.mesh.com/Welcome/default.aspx

MozyHome (Online) - http://mozy.com/home

OpenDrive (Online) - https://www.opendrive.com/user_account/login.php

PowerFolder (Online) - http://www.powerfolder.com/

SpiderOak (Online) - https://spideroak.com/

Syncplicity (Online) - http://syncplicity.com/

These websites are great sources for finding free portable software. Some of them have their own custom launchers.

Portable Software:

LiberKey - http://www.liberkey.com/

Lupo PenSuite - http://www.lupopensuite.com/

PenDriveApps - http://www.pendriveapps.com/

PortableApps - http://portableapps.com/

Portable Freeware - http://www.portablefreeware.com/

WinPenPack - http://www.winpenpack.com/

3,512 · April 3, 2010

Video -> Duplicate Finders:

Teemoon Video Matching - http://teemoon.name/VideoID/

Teemoon Video Matching is a flexible software for finding duplicate or similar videos in your collection. It can find duplicate videos regardless of format, resolution, colors, aspect ratio, and compression. Video subsequence identification in which one video can be identified as a scene in another video. Video files only need to be indexed once, with a .VID index file being created for each video file.

April 3, 2010

Just a quick warning about this. It's a really nice player but don't let it apply file associations. I lost thumbnail previews for all my video formats and it took a bit of googling around to find reg files to restore the default associations.

any way you can share this reg file?:D

3,512 · April 3, 2010

After trying to run another program today, I was once again greeted by this lovely message:

Annoyed by this, I compiled a list of every single runtime I could find or think of. If I missed any, please let me know and provide a link if possible.

Runtimes:

Adobe AIR - http://www.adobe.com/products/air/

Adobe Flash Player - http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/

Adobe Shockwave Player - http://get.adobe.com/shockwave/

DirectX - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=2DA43D38-DB71-4C1B-BC6A-9B6652CD92A3&displaylang=en

Java - http://www.java.com/getjava/

Microsoft Silverlight - http://www.silverlight.net/

.NET Framework 1.1 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=262D25E3-F589-4842-8157-034D1E7CF3A3&displaylang=en

.NET Framework 1.1 SP1 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=A8F5654F-088E-40B2-BBDB-A83353618B38&displaylang=en

.NET Framework 2.0 IA64 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=53C2548B-BEC7-4AB4-8CBE-33E07CFC83A7&displaylang=en

.NET Framework 2.0 IA64 SP1 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=32E77AE0-96EF-4ECD-A157-9BF61A7C8DAA&displaylang=en

.NET Framework 2.0 x64 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=B44A0000-ACF8-4FA1-AFFB-40E78D788B00&displaylang=en

.NET Framework 2.0 x64 SP1 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=029196ED-04EB-471E-8A99-3C61D19A4C5A&displaylang=en

.NET Framework 2.0 x86 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=0856EACB-4362-4B0D-8EDD-AAB15C5E04F5&displaylang=en

.NET Framework 2.0 x86 SP1 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=79BC3B77-E02C-4AD3-AACF-A7633F706BA5&displaylang=en

.NET Framework 3.0 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=10CC340B-F857-4A14-83F5-25634C3BF043&displaylang=en

.NET Framework 3.5 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=333325FD-AE52-4E35-B531-508D977D32A6&displaylang=en

.NET Framework 3.5 SP1 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=AB99342F-5D1A-413D-8319-81DA479AB0D7&displaylang=en

Visual Basic Runtimes - http://support.microsoft.com/gp/vbruntime

Visual C++ 2005 IA64 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=526BF4A7-44E6-4A91-B328-A4594ADB70E5&displaylang=en

Visual C++ 2005 x64 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=90548130-4468-4BBC-9673-D6ACABD5D13B&displaylang=en

Visual C++ 2005 x64 SP1 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=EB4EBE2D-33C0-4A47-9DD4-B9A6D7BD44DA&displaylang=en

Visual C++ 2005 x86 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=32bc1bee-a3f9-4c13-9c99-220b62a191ee&displaylang=en

Visual C++ 2005 x86 SP1 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=200B2FD9-AE1A-4A14-984D-389C36F85647&displaylang=en

Visual C++ 2008 x64 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=BD2A6171-E2D6-4230-B809-9A8D7548C1B6&displaylang=en

Visual C++ 2008 x64 SP1 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=BA9257CA-337F-4B40-8C14-157CFDFFEE4E&displaylang=en

Visual C++ 2008 x86 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=9B2DA534-3E03-4391-8A4D-074B9F2BC1BF&displaylang=en

Visual C++ 2008 x86 SP1 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=A5C84275-3B97-4AB7-A40D-3802B2AF5FC2&displaylang=en

Visual C++ 6.0 - http://download.microsoft.com/download/vc60pro/update/1/w9xnt4/en-us/vc6redistsetup_enu.exe

Visual J# 1.1 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=E3CF70A9-84CA-4FEA-9E7D-7D674D2C7CA1&displaylang=en

Visual J# 2.0 x64 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=42C46554-5313-4348-BF81-9BB133518945&displaylang=en

Visual J# 2.0 x86 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=E9D87F37-2ADC-4C32-95B3-B5E3A21BAB2C&displaylang=en

Windows Installer 4.5 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=5A58B56F-60B6-4412-95B9-54D056D6F9F4&displaylang=en

XNA Framework 1.0 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=A7DA4763-6807-4BD5-8D18-18C60C437F93&displaylang=en

XNA Framework 2.0 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=15FB9169-4A25-4DCA-BF40-9C497568F102&displaylang=en

XNA Framework 3.0 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=6521D889-5414-49B8-AB32-E3FFF05A4C50&displaylang=en

XNA Framework 3.1 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=53867A2A-E249-4560-8011-98EB3E799EF2&displaylang=en

April 26, 2010

here are a few programs that you missed

Anti-Virus:

Cloud Antivirus - http://www.cloudantivirus.com/en/

DriveSentry - http://www.drivesentry.com/

web browsers

Arora - http://code.google.com/p/arora/

lunascape - http://www.lunascape.tv/

Video Players:

VLC - http://www.videolan.org/

Kantaris - http://www.kantaris.org/

Video Tools and Converters:

Miro Video Converter - http://www.mirovideoconverter.com/

VideoLAN Movie Creator - http://trac.videolan.org/vlmc/

3,512 · May 16, 2010

I'm thinking of reformatting the list to make it look better, but also so I could add more information about each program. I made this just as an example.

System -> Troubleshoot & Repair:

AppCrashView Portable

BlueScreenView Portable

FixWin Portable

LookInMyPC Portable

Microsoft Fix it Center

MyEventViewer Portable

Paragon Rescue Kit Express Boot CD

Stalled Printer Repair Portable

WhoCrashed

This idea isn't something I'll do now, I want to post the new list already. Instead, I'd work on these ideas after posting the new list. (Tier 2 subscribers have unlimited time to edit their posts)

June 20, 2010

ioFTPD is a free ftp server for windows - ioFTPD

1,286 · June 24, 2010

Why is Vim counted as a Small Business application? Just wondering.

File manager:

Expicula.

Seems to be available in German only? But looks nice so far.

3,512 · June 24, 2010

I will try to follow Xinok's style to submit another freeware that I recently used. I think it's quite useful to people who like to share their presentation on the video site for people without PowerPoint installed.

Video Converter

PPT to Video Free - http://www.acoolsoft.com/powerpoint-to-video-overview.html

PPT to Video Free allows you to convert your PowerPoint presentation to video.

Convert PowerPoint 2000, 2003 or 2007 to WMV, ASF, MOV, MKV in 3 steps

Retain all elements in the original PowerPoint like animations, transitions, sounds and video clips

Customizable output video resolution, frame rate and so on

Brand or protect the presentation by adding logo to the output video

== NO PREVIEWS I'm sorry ==

here are a few programs that you missed

Anti-Virus:

Cloud Antivirus - http://www.cloudantivirus.com/en/

DriveSentry - http://www.drivesentry.com/

web browsers

Arora - http://code.google.com/p/arora/

lunascape - http://www.lunascape.tv/

Video Players:

VLC - http://www.videolan.org/

Kantaris - http://www.kantaris.org/

Video Tools and Converters:

Miro Video Converter - http://www.mirovideoconverter.com/

VideoLAN Movie Creator - http://trac.videolan.org/vlmc/

ioFTPD is a free ftp server for windows - ioFTPD

Why is Vim counted as a Small Business application? Just wondering.

File manager:

Expicula.

[...]

Seems to be available in German only? But looks nice so far.

Thanks for the suggestions. All of these will be on the new list. Expicula will be tagged as German-only.

I'm not sure what Vim is doing under Small Business...

3,512 · July 4, 2010

I think it's about time I let everyone know where I'm at with the new list and what plans I have.

First of all, the new list isn't done yet because I'm lazy and unmotivated. :hmmm: I've been making some progress, but I have a big list of about 700 programs I still have to categorize. In total, there are about 2500 programs and I'm adding more everyday.

The list has a lot more categories, over 400 of them. I was planning on making a table of contents, but due to the large number of categories, I have to find a good way to format them. By using code tags, I can organize the categories in columns. This is an example using Audio and all of its sub-categories. The numbers are there so you can search the page, Ctrl+F, to jump directly to that category.

01.00 Audio

01.01 Album Art                  01.07 Editors           01.13 Notation          01.19 Server
01.02 Analysis                   01.08 Editors -&gt; MIDI   01.14 Organizers        01.20 Streaming Radio
01.03 Converters                 01.09 Effects           01.15 Players           01.21 Synthesizer
01.04 Converters -&gt; CD Rippers   01.10 Equalizers        01.16 Players -&gt; MIDI   01.22 Tag Editors
01.05 Creation                   01.11 Karaoke           01.17 Recorders         01.23 Text to Speech
01.06 Duplicate Finders          01.12 Lyrics &amp; Chords   01.18 Replay Gain       01.24 Tuners

A few posts up, I posted an example of how I may format the list. I think adding a separator | makes the tags a little easier to read. I have a number of ideas for tags, including tagging native 64-bit programs since the x64 software list hasn't been updated in almost 5 years. Two tags I'm already using are Online for programs which require an internet connection, and Web-Based since there are more and more programs which run in a web browser (e.g. a web-based IRC Client).

The heart :heart: is just there as an example. Some of the categories are still somewhat large, with Audio -> Players having 20 programs currently. The heart marks programs which are considered the best / most popular, and it would make it easier for users to choose programs in these large categories without splitting them up into yet more sub-categories.

System -> Troubleshoot & Repair:

AppCrashView | Portable

BlueScreenView | Portable

FixWin | Portable

LookInMyPC | Portable

:heart: Microsoft Fix it Center

MyEventViewer | Portable

Paragon Rescue Kit Express | Boot CD

Stalled Printer Repair | Portable

WhoCrashed

3,512 · August 3, 2010

I haven't been posting new programs recently, but I thought this one was worth mentioning.

Desktop & Customization -> Tabs:

WindowTabs - http://www.windowtabs.com/

The freeware version is limited to 3 tabs per group.

WindowTabs is a neat program which can add tabs to almost any program with resizeable windows, including Windows Explorer.

You can customize which processes to add tabs to.
Groups windows from the same process automatically
Reorganize tabs by drag and drop
Tab tearing by drag and drop -> Can group tabs from different processes

August 8, 2010

Big thanks for maintaining this list, great source for me when recommending freeware software to my friends.

August 13, 2010

Nice list! Maybe Neowin should create a new HTML page just for this, its well worth it!

August 13, 2010

Here is a smaller list I made a while back. I created a larger list a few years ago, but I've taken my site down since then.

Useful or Essential Software for Free

August 13, 2010

System Tools:

Windows SteadyState http://www.microsoft...ss/default.mspx

Whether you manage computers in a school computer lab or an Internet caf?, a library, or even in your home, Windows SteadyState helps make it easy for you to keep your computers running the way you want them to, no matter who uses them.

Doesn't support Windows 7.

3,512 · August 15, 2010

Here is a smaller list I made a while back. I created a larger list a few years ago, but I've taken my site down since then.

Useful or Essential Software for Free

Thanks. There was a few programs I didn't already have.

Doesn't support Windows 7.

I know, it's tagged as such on the new list. It's still a handy program for those running XP and Vista.

August 15, 2010

Image Tools and Converters:

Microsoft Image Composite Editor (ICE) - http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/redmond/groups/ivm/ICE/

Free .Net application with 64-bit support that stitches images, and has no limit on image size.

Microsoft Image Composite Editor is an advanced panoramic image stitcher. Given a set of overlapping photographs of a scene shot from a single camera location, the application creates a high-resolution panorama that seamlessly combines the original images.

46,517 · September 1, 2010

Click here for the new/updated thread (as of late 2010):

https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/934274-freeware-alternative-list/

[Thread Un-Pinned]

[Thread Closed]

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