NT File Recovery

new-utillities.net have a nice little collection of "Useful Utilities", among them a "No skills needed, 100% free" file recovery tool for the NTFS file system.

They also have a U3 flash drive version, so you can install it there instead of risking overwriting the files you want to recover.

You find both versions here:
http://new-utilities.net/ntfilerecovery.html

Frets on Fire! Open source "Guitar Hero".

Frets on Fire is a game of musical skill and fast fingers. The aim of the game is to play guitar with the keyboard as accurately as possible.

You can also use original controllers from the various console games.

Here's where:
http://fretsonfire.sourceforge.net/

eMule . Yet another peer to peer client

eMule is a client to the eDonkey2000 peer to peer network.

eMule is one of the biggest and most reliable peer-to-peer file sharing clients around the world. Thanks to it's open source policy many developers are able to contribute to the project, making the network more efficient with each release.

Get it here:

http://www.emule-project.net

Ip-scanner. Angry Ip Scanner!

Angry IP Scanner (or simply ipscan) is an open-source and cross-platform network scanner designed to be fast and simple to use. It scans IP addresses and ports as well as has many other features.
It is widely used by network administrators and just curious users around the world, including large and small enterprises, banks, and government agencies.

Get it here:

http://www.angryip.org

Find lost data. Disk Investigator.

Disk investigator is a free tool from Kevin Solway.

Disk Investigator helps you to discover all that is hidden on your computer hard disk. It can also help you to recover lost data. Display the true drive contents by bypassing the operating system and directly reading the raw drive sectors. View and search raw directories, files, clusters, and system sectors. Verify the effectiveness of file and disk wiping programs

It can also recover/undelete deleted files.

You get it here: http://www.theabsolute.net/sware/dskinv.html

Eraser. Better than rubber.

Eraser claims to totally remove any file from your computer, and it may be exactly what it does, because I can't find any files Eraser has erased using Disk Investigator or  NT File Recovery.

Eraser info and download from here: http://eraser.heidi.ie/

Clamwin - Really free antivirus!

There are lots of free, for personal use only, light version antivirus programs, but there is at least one 100% free, open source version;

Clamwin.

-But there is a catch.
This is a traditional virus scanner, not a real-time antivirus system.
The difference is in short that it doesn't really stop viruses, but it can find them and eliminate them.

Good companion on your thumbdrive, and great for a second opinion, running as a scheduled task once in a while.

You get it here:

http://www.clamwin.com/

Free open source enterprice backup - BackupPC

BackupPC is a high-performance, enterprise-grade system for backing up Linux and WinXX PCs and laptops to a server's disk. BackupPC is highly configurable and easy to install and maintain.

This is probably a bit overkill for the average home user, but if you have a server of some sort, it may some day be worth the effort to install BackupPC, and then just forget about it!

Get it here: http://backuppc.sourceforge.net/

Not exactly software, but 100% free clipart

Here are 2 great resources for public domain (and other "copyleft" license clipart and images).


http://www.clker.com/ has more than 20.000 clipart pieces in .png and .svg format.

http://www.openclipart.org/ about the same.

In my opinion, clker is a bit more user friendly.

Enjoy!

Edit SVG files with Inkscape

Inkscape is an Open Source vector graphics editor, with capabilities similar to Illustrator, CorelDraw, or Xara X, using the W3C standard Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file format.

Read all about it here: http://www.inkscape.org


Download the windows version here: http://inkscape.modevia.com/win32/?M=D
-What you want is most likely the most recent file ending with .win32.exe

Rename that music collection! Advanced Renamer

Hulubulu software(sic!) has made a nice little tool for renaming multiple files.

Advanced Renamer is the name.

Get it here:


http://aren.hulubulu.net/

Nice text editor thingie - TextCrawler

Lazy way, c/p from http://www.digitalvolcano.co.uk, the TextCrawler publishers:
TextCrawler is a fantastic tool for anyone who works with text files. This cool utility enables you to instantly find and replace words and phrases across multiple files and folders.  It utilises a powerful Regular Expression engine to enable you to create sophisticated searches, perform batch operations, extract text from files and more. It is fast and easy to use, and as powerful as you need it to be.

Get it here:
http://www.digitalvolcano.co.uk/content/textcrawler/tcdownload

Read all about it here:
http://www.digitalvolcano.co.uk/content/textcrawler/manual

LimeWire P2P

It is a peer-to-peer file sharing program.
I guess you know how it works. If not, this is what the publishers say:


LimeWire is a peer-to-peer file sharing program that connects to the Gnutella network and enables users to search for and download files from other users. It is not a web site or a service, and LimeWire does not provide any of the content found on the network. LimeWire enables you to share your files with millions of other LimeWire users, and vice versa, so there is always a diverse selection of files available.

Get it here:  http://www.limewire.com/download

JFGI with Googles own Chrome

Yo dawg, we heard you like searching, so we made you a new browser you can use while searching so you can make us more dominating while you're making us more dominating.

Googles own browser, Google Chrome.

Get it while it's still fresh: http://www.google.com/chrome

Mac Envy? Try RocketDock

RocketDock is a smoothly animated, alpha blended application launcher. It provides a nice clean interface to drop shortcuts on for easy access and organization. With each item completely customizable there is no end to what you can add and launch from the dock.

Judging the voice on the video (below), it's made by a 10-year old.



Download here:  http://rocketdock.com/download
And consider donating (here): http://punklabs.com/shop

Free Video Editor - Avidemux

Avidemux is a free video editor designed for simple cutting, filtering and encoding tasks. It supports many file types, including AVI, DVD compatible MPEG files, MP4 and ASF, using a variety of codecs. Tasks can be automated using projects, job queue and powerful scripting capabilities.

So now you and your peer can make that interesting film you always talk about.
Well. You'd need some sort of camera.

Download here: http://fixounet.free.fr/avidemux/download.html

(2.5.1 install is probably what you're looking for)
Direct link here: http://prdownload.berlios.de/avidemux/avidemux_2.5.1_win32.exe

Subtitles maker

AHD Subtitles Maker.

Well... It's just that. And it works just fine.

Read about it here: http://ahd-subtitles-maker.webnode.com/
Download it here: http://ahd-subtitles-maker.webnode.com/downloads/

Launchy - Quick launch for windows.

No more fiddling with the start menu to find what you want.
Launchy gives you the power to launch all start menu programs from your fingertips.

This is what they say:
---------------------------------------
"Launchy is a free windows and linux utility designed to help you forget about your start menu, the icons on your desktop, and even your file manager.

Launchy indexes the programs in your start menu and can launch your documents, project files, folders, and bookmarks with just a few keystrokes!"
Josh Karlin
---------------------------------------


Download here:
http://www.launchy.net/#download

KeePass Password Safe

KeePass is a free open source password manager, which helps you to manage your passwords in a secure way.


One password to rule them all...


Here's where: http://keepass.info/download.html

Mac Envy? Try VirtuaWin

Ever wished you could do that fancy desktop flipping in windows?

Well.. you can.
VirtuaWin multiplys your desktop, and with some effort you'll get more productive in no time.
No more windows everywhere cluttering your workspace. Now you just flip to the desktop you need so you can focus on what you're doing there and then.

Read about it here: http://virtuawin.sourceforge.net/
Download it here: http://virtuawin.sourceforge.net/downloads.php

Garage band? Audacity!

Who needs a studio when you have your good'ole computer hooked up with some mics?
Erh...
Come to think about it, that is just what a studio is nowadays.
Who needs lots of expensive equipment when you just can hook some mics to your computer.

Boredom to stardom howto:

1. Hook up mics (and guitars and whatever). (Yes, prolly would need a mixer or a fancy audio card).
2. Download and install Audacity. http://audacity.sourceforge.net
3. Convince your local pub owner or Tom Parker that you are the next 'IT'.
4. Enjoy.
(Results may vary)

Good luck!

Free photoshop for the grown-ups

Who needs Photoshop when you have Gimp!
Indefinitely more bang for the bucks than the expensive market leader.
Price comparison is a bit lame when it comes to free open source software, I admit.

Gimp is more than advanced (and user-friendly) enough for most users.
 Although it is kind of Linux-based, there have been windows installers for it for years, so it is stable, and does not need a lot of special configuration or a degree in computer science to install.

You get the windows version here:
http://www.gimp.org/windows/

More for the children

Tux paint!

A free, fun drawing program with lots of easy to understand features.
And with a little help from a grown-up, you can make your own brushes, and use them as a stamp.

You get it here:

http://www.tuxpaint.org/

Programming from Scratch

Scratch is a programming environment for kids.
Or for fun.
Or maybe just for getting the basics of programming?

http://scratch.mit.edu/