David's Freeware Collection!

When you download a freeware program, you have some rights, some responsibilities, and you have just one remedy:

Rights That you will not have to pay for the program, in any way, ever. That the program will turn out to be what its description says it is. That the program will meet at least some of your needs. That your privacy will not be invaded. Responsibilities You must read the documentation and FAQ list before asking a question. You may not demand new answers to questions already covered in the FAQ list or the documentation. You may not demand customer service or one-on-one instruction. You don't have the right to demand program changes to suit your personal tastes. If you feel an impulse to say "You only get what you pay for," be sure your sexual partner doesn't overhear you, because, unless brain-damaged, he or she will stop sleeping with you. Remedies There's just one — you can stop using the program. You cannot complain about it as though you paid for it, because you didn't.

What I am saying in essence is that users must not treat freeware like commercial software. For one thing, much of freeware is better than commercial software. Why? Because most people who write freeware actually like computers and programming, and most freeware programs were written by people who, whatever they were doing, were not watching a clock while feeling exploited by a corporation.

Digression: why do you think Microsoft's software is so dreadful? Simple. It was largely written by people who didn't want to be doing what they were doing, who were the least expensive programmers the personnel division could find to fill empty positions, who were being exploited and who knew it. Programmers who are actually skilled at programming either start their own companies or retire (and maybe write freeware) — but they don't remain corporate lackeys, struggling to repair the latest version of Windows. There's an old joke with relevance to this topic. After John Glenn's historic orbital flight, interviewers asked him what he thought as he waited for lift-off. He replied, "I was thinking that the rocket had twenty thousand components, and each was made by the lowest bidder". Commercial software is, by definition, built by the lowest bidder. By contrast, freeware (some if it, anyway) is built by people who actually like what they are doing, and some of them are people the big software corporations could not afford to hire.

Users of freeware must not forget that they didn't pay for the software, and therefore they cannot demand the satisfaction of an imaginary contract between the programmer and themselves. The usual adversarial relationship between a vendor and a consumer simply doesn't exist. I find that users below a certain age never grasp this fact, and invariably it is the youngest users who think they have the right to demand absolutely anything, and who expect satisfaction of any arbitrary whim. I will simply say that people must not treat freeware as though it is commercial software, and must not treat freeware authors as though they can be held responsible for users' expectations. Boys and girls, this is not how freeware works.

DISCLAIMER: While I highly recommend everything on these pages, I will not be responsible for any damage, if any, these programs may cause to your PC. I haven't personally used or tested all of these on my computer, but I have done enough research to feel safe about including them here.. Also, at the time of publication, I am also fairly confident these programs contain no spyware or adware. As always, when you download from the Internet, take precautions.

Feedback is always a good thing, even if it's negative. Sign my guestbook and let me know what you think.

For even more great freeware, click the link below.

Freeware Files

It never ceases to amaze me how gullible some people are. Maybe gullible isn't the word I'm looking for. Perhaps I should use the word 'uneducated'.  How else do you explain the fact that people willingly shell out $200-300 for Microsoft Office when they can get the same functionality (and sometimes more) by downloading a completely free office suite? Needless to say, Bill Gates won't be inviting the developers of OpenOffice over for cocktails anytime soon. OpenOffice does everything that Microsoft Office does, except one. It's not gonna set you back a couple hundred bucks.



Open Office

Here are the top ten freeware programs that I just can't live without.

1. Glucose One (literally, I'm diabetic)
2. Mozilla Firefox
3. CD BurnerXP
4. Advanced SystemCare Free
5. Quintessential Player
6. Open Office
7. CC Cleaner
8. ThreatFire
9. CDex
10. Spyware Blaster

Freeware is basically software provided by a company or developer for free. There are several reasons for this. Sometimes a company will provide a free or "lite" version of a more full-featured program that you would have to pay for. While the free version may suit most of your needs, you can always opt to upgrade to the "professional" version. Other times, companies will allow you to use their programs for free if you are the only person who will be using it. People who want to use it on multiple computers, will usually be asked to pay a "license fee". A lot of the links you see here will showcase more than one program. Some are free, some not. They provide some of their programs for free in the hopes you will see something else you may want to pay for.  And then of course, you have developers who just offer their software for free for no other reason than they can.

Here's where you have to be careful. Unfortunately, a lot of freeware is laden with spyware. You get the program for free, but the developer gets something more valuable - your personal information! I cannot stress this enough: CHECK THE SOFTWARE FOR VIRUSES AND SPYWARE BEFORE YOU INSTALL IT! DO YOUR HOMEWORK AND READ REVIEWS OF THE SOFTWARE!

Open source software is basically the same as freeware with one major difference. You can usually download the source code to the software. Many of the sites that feature open source programs have communities and forums to help you with the software itself. And the best part (if you're so inclined) is that people are encouraged to download the source code and help improve the software.

My friend Ralph lives in a little town just north of Fort Worth,TX called Bullishville. You won't find it on any map. It's more a state of mind than anything, kinda like Margaritaville without the margaritas. Anyhoo, he was the one that really got me interested in computers, and from there it was BBS'es and then the Internet. As a matter of fact, if it wasn't for him, I probably would never have undertaken a project like this webpage. Well, now you know who to blame. Go visit his site and give him a piece of your mind. While you're there take the time and learn a little about Linux.

Get Rid Of Windows!