Ten Free Software Programs For Windows

Its amazing what free software there is for Windows computers on the Internet. I gather up ten of my best freeware Windows programs that I have found most useful. These are not ranked in any way as I consider all of them to be very good at what they do.

1. iClone

   Want to try your hand at 3D animation? iClone is an easy to use media production program that allows you to create real time 3D visual animations. Create movies, visualizations and ppresentations in 3D that will make everything else look dull. You need an Intel GMA 950+, nVidia 5200+ or ATI 8500+ graphic cards minimum.

2. Install Creator

   If you are a Windows software developer, you know how expensive software installation programs can be. Install Creator is a very good development tool for installing and uninstalling your Window programs. You can't beat the free price and it comes with a easy to use Wizard to walk you through a setup and build of your product.

3. Object Desktop

   Want to take more control of your desktop? Object Desktop is a cool desktop extension that will allow you to use a dock metaphor in managing the look and feel of Windows. Change the icons, create themeable backgrounds, change the colors and skin your Windows!

4. WinRAR

   Ok so this one isn't exactly free but you can try it for a 40 day trial. This program is useful mostly for software developers and operating system buffs. It is a software archiver that compresses and decompresses files into a smaller size better than ZIP format. Practical uses are for those that may want to take a lot of image and document files and archive them on CD.

5. Navy Field

   One of the best massively multiplayer online simulation games there is and best of all for free. This is a naval warfare game where you battle against other opponents' fleets. Clever, detailed and addicting!

6. AVG Anti-Virus

   This is lesser featured version of AVG's Premium Anti Virus software. It will protect you against trojans, worms and viruses that can wreak havoc on your computer. It also blocks spyware and adware. AVG is one of the most popular free anti-virus programs in the world. I have found it to be better than Norton and McAfee.

7. Opera Web Browser

   This is the fastest and smallest memory footprint web browser out there. use it once and you will be hooked. Everything else that you have used will seem to be slow.

8. OpenOffice

   No you don't have to pay $300 for an office suite for Windows. You can get it for free. It comes with everything - word processor, database, calculator, spreadsheet, and charting. Even better yet is that it imports and exports Microsoft file formats. Save yourself a bundle and switch.

9. PrimoPDF

   Take any file from any Windows program and convert it to Adobe PDF file format. If you want encryption and password protection you can have that too.

10. CygWin

    If you want to learn Unix from within Windows, CygWin can help. CygWin is like a Unix emulator where you can type commands in from the command shell - just like the DOS command line only for UNIX. If you use Linux or Unix and are more comfortable in that environment when using Windows, CygWin is a lifesaver.