Resources and related links:
Web Browsers:
| NetCaptor |
The Original tabbed web browser! Though no longer developed, this is still
a top notch browser. Uses the IE engine, but otherwise blows most everything
else away. Power steering for the information superhighway! |
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| Opera |
The Best currently developed web browser you can get! We think it's lightyears
ahead of even FireFox, and we highly recommend it! Opera also has some
mini-web browsers that are perfect for mobile devices (smartphones, etc.).
If you think FireFox could be better, give this a try...because we think
it's well worth it! |
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| FireFox |
Well, if you *must* have a tabbed browser and haven't fallen in love with
either NetCaptor or Opera, then go ahead and give FireFox a whirl. It does
have tons of support and is Open Source...all of which are good. |
Email Program:
| Calypso |
Calypso is no longer developed, but it's still the only email program we can recommend. We've tried practically everything on the market and nothing even comes close to this (except Mail Courier, a slightly updated version of Calypso that is also no longer available). ALL of your mail and settings are stored in one, yes one, file! Sure, the file gets large, but it's easy to port among computers and take with you. There is one trick to this program, though...after installing, start it up, create a mailbox, then close it. AFTER that, do not open the program via its program link. Open the mailbox FILE itself...as it'll load the program up then. Otherwise it asks you if you want to open a file or whatnot first. Just opening the file loads you right up and you're in your file fast! Since the old sources for the program are no longer available, we have added a copy of the program (last freeware version!) here, and you can download it by clicking here! |
Text Editors:
Perfect! Text Edit
(aka PTE) |
Simple and practical plain text editor with multiple files open in a tabbed
setting. Plain jane here...no syntax highlighting, but it's fast and efficient! |
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| ConText |
A bit more elaborate that PTE...this one offers syntax highlighting and
a few other features that are more helpful to anyone doing any programming
or coding, including for web page work! |
HTML Editor:
| Kompozer |
A slightly updated release of the nVu editor. Both are freeware HTML editors,
but we give the nod to Kompozer for being slightly better. You can edit
in code view or WYSIWYG view, along with a preview tab to view work as
you go along. It might not be as powerful as Dreamweaver or other high
end editors, but this is a very capable program that we highly recommend
if you are looking for a good page editor! |
FTP Program:
| FileZilla |
It's sad that something as simple as FTP cannot produce a simple, effective
quality program to do the work. Almost all the FTP programs we've tried
are either too convoluted for anyone's good, or simply work in stupid ways
or just don't do the basics simply and effectively. FileZilla is an acceptable
FTP program....a bit heavy on the configuration if you're handling more
than one site, but tolerable even so. The current version does not work
with Windows 9x, but an older version is still around (we'll add a link
to it later on when we have time to dig it up). But grab this version if
you're running 2k or XP or newer. It works decently and though we'd still
like to see better, this IS better than most the rest out there! |
Image Editing:
| The GIMP |
The GIMP is often touted as the freeware equivalent of Photoshop. We may
not think of rating it that highly, but it's a good program if you need
something along these lines at the nice price of FREE! We also recommend
various products (though not free, of course) from Adobe (Photoshop, Illustrator,
etc.), Corel (Draw, PhotoPaint, PhotoImpact, PaintShopPro, etc.) if you
have a few extra dollars to invest in something worthwhile. |
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| Pixia |
OK, we have to admit this one is more fun than probably production grade....unless
you're doing Manga style work....then it's perfect! But this is a nice
(and FREE!) raster/paint program that produces some nice quality results.
Worth a look at least! |
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| InkScape |
When it comes to Vector image work, we usually turn to CorelDRAW or Adobe
Illustrator, but those come at a price. If you're looking for a freeware
solution to do some vector design work, take a look at InkScape! |
Miscellaneous Web Related Utilities:
| Color Cop |
When you need to find the code or settings for an exact color....or particular
pixel on your screen...this is the perfect tool. There are other color
pickers out there, but this one is small, efficient, and effective. All
that you need in such a tool! |
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| BTRWiz |
Text replacer. No longer developed. We'll add a link to this later on,
but are placing it in the listing for now so it's in place! |
Other Useful Programs and Utilities:
| OpenOffice.Org |
Freeware (open source) Office Suite that pretty much does it all...word
processor, spreadsheet, database, draw program, etc. All the basics you'd
need in an office package, at a price you can't beat: FREE! If you have
a Microsoft or Wordperfect Office Suite already you may not need this,
but it's still worth checking out. If you do not have an office package
already, then this is worth getting ahold of. |
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| Adobe PDF Reader |
Many files on the web are available in PDF format. Adobe offers a free
reader to view and print these files on any computer. The best program
for getting the best results from PDF files, but if you want something
leaner and faster, checkout the Foxit Reader below. You can have both on
your system and use as you need. |
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| Foxit PDF Reader |
Foxit Software makes a few programs, and one of the nice ones is their
Foxit PDF Reader. A free PDF file reader. Faster and more efficient than
Adobe's free reader, so does come in handy if you want something lighter
in weight than from Adobe. |
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| TreePad (lite) |
Treepad is our long time favorite note keeper. It stores all your notes
in a freeform (you set things up as you need) tree structure. This is like
Sticky Notes for your computer, but even better as it's all kept in one
file and not stuck in various places all over. Make sure you grab the Lite
version, which is free...the other versions are still reasonable in amount,
but the freeware version still does what most people need it to! |
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| KeyNote |
KeyNote is much like Treepad (you can even import and export Treepad files
with it), but allows you to have multiple pads in a tabbed setting in a
single file. Hasn't been updated in ages, but still ultimately effective
at what it does! We recommend both KeyNote and Treepad, but you can decide
which you prefer for your own use. |
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| Oscar's Renamer |
This is the most simple and most effective file renamer we have used. A
cross between a plain text editor and a renaming tool, it ends up being
our go-to solution for any renaming needs almost every time. Oscar is the
guy behind MediaChance software. Poke around the rest of the site while
you are there and try some of their excellent Image and Video editing software
as well. Most all of those programs are shareware, but even so are at a
great price for what they do. This Renamer is one of the free utilities
they offer, and we highly recommend it for all but the most intense file
renaming needs a person might have. |
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| Convert |
Have you ever needed to know how many centimeters there are in 4.3 miles?
Well, we haven't either, but we DO often have to either convert between
metric and English measurements or just find out how many of this are in
that. Convert is one of the best tools for this type of task. Small and
efficient...simple and effective...it does what you need and will save
your brain from a lot of fun calculations. Oh, and now that we've raised
the question, we probably should answer it....there are 692017.9 centimeters
in 4.3 miles! Now, we can all sleep a little better knowing that, eh! :) |
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| TheSage |
There are some nice Dictionary and Thesaurus utilities online, but it's nice to have a decent and fast tool to handle those tasks straight from your desktop as well. TheSage is just that tool! |
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