The Big List of Freeware Programs

[Damien]

Here are some pages that have a lot of free (and usable) soundfonts:

www.soundfonts.it - Great page, doesn't require any kind of registration to download the soundfonts, all soundfonts are compressed and are in .sf2 or .sfpack format. There is a tool on the page for extracting the .sfpack files into .sf2.

http://www.emusicmag.com/soundfonts/ - another great page if You're looking for quality soundfonts. There is a limitation, You can only download 3 soundfonts per day if you are an unregistered member, but the registration is free.

[kadok]

www.anim8or.com a freeware 3D modeling/animation/scene making app, very powerfule and easy to use...

[Ciro Durán]

YaSoft Switch Off (http://yasoft.km.ru/eng/switchoff/) - If you are poor as me, and have a 56k connection, and a family which uses the phone, this program allows you to set a time to turn off the computer, hibernate, hangup the phone, etc.     Besides it's free, it's also very small, and works in the system tray.

[Neutron]

I just ran into this freeware app for bitmap painting.Ã,  It is very useful, and I definately recommend trying out some of the different brushes with the spray paint tool.Ã,  ( it sprays the brush tip instead of just dots ) ,...anyway, I just got this a few minutes ago, but it is clearly exactly what i was looking for. Lots of cool functions in a 650 kb package.Ã,  Cool and compact too.Ã,  Called GrafX2.
http://www.eclipse-game.com/?dat=7

[Gilbert]

Yeah, Grafix 2 is mentioned here several times already.

[Neutron]

Sorry about that.  Here is another useful program: Atmosphere Lite ( pro version also available ) http://www.relaxingsoftware.com/naturesounds.htm
It makes sound backdrops from sample loops, for a variety of environments.  The only thing they ask is that you credit them, if you use it in a professional game or anim.  It can output .wav files, so no fancy soundcard acrobatics are necessary.

[TerranRich]

LGM, you can now add Word Puzzle Assistant to your list. A great little tool for help with solving and creating word puzzles, such as crosswords, anagrams, etc.

(Made by yours truly., updated to version 1.5)

[Tommy Filth]

This is a great thread!  I'll be sure to refer to it often in the future.

Since I haven't seen the site listed, may I make a suggestion?  Analog X 3.1 is a freeware site loaded with cool Windows-based software.  A few of my favorites are:

CookieWall - A very nice little cookie management program.

POW! - A great pop-up killer I use on all my machines, both at work and at home.

MaxMem - Quit restarting every time your system starts to get bogged down.  A simple click, and this program cleans all the unwanted crap out of your RAM, freeing up system resources for more important things.

There's also tons of port blocking software, packet snifferss, and even music software.  This guy is a genius, his software is fantastic, and somehow, all of it is free.

[RickJ]

Metapad Text Editor - http://liquidninja.com/metapad/
Metapad is a small, fast (and completely free) text editor for Windows 9x/NT/XP with similar features to Microsoft Notepad but with many extra (and rather useful) features. It was designed to completely replace Notepad since it includes all of Notepad's features and much, much more.  Most notably, it seamlessly supports both dos and unix text files and also does spell checking via GNU Aspell (see below).

GNU Aspell Spell Checker -  http://aspell.sourceforge.net/
GNU Aspell is a Free and Open Source spell checker designed to eventually replace Ispell. It can either be used as a library or as an independent spell checker. Its main feature is that it does a superior job of suggesting possible replacements for a misspelled word than just about any other spell checker out there for the English language. Unlike Ispell, Aspell can also easily check documents in UTF-8 without having to use a special dictionary. Aspell will also do its best to respect the current locale setting. Other advantages over Ispell include support for using multiple dictionaries at once and intelligently handling personal dictionaries when more than one Aspell process is open at once.

Scite Program Editor - http://www.scintilla.org/SciTE.html
SciTE is a SCIntilla based Text Editor. Originally built to demonstrate Scintilla, it has grown to be a generally useful editor with facilities for building and running programs. It is best used for jobs with simple configurations.  SCIntilla is the basis of AGS's script editor.  Scite is an external program editor that has some of the same features as the AGS editor. 

7-Zip - http://www.7-zip.org/
7-Zip is a file archiver with high compression ratio and is free software distributed under the GNU LGPL.   The main features of 7-Zip are as follows:

• High compression ratio in new 7z format with LZMA compression
  
• 7-Zip is free software distributed under the GNU LGPL
  
• Supported formats: 7z, ZIP, CAB, RAR, ARJ, GZIP, BZIP2, Z, TAR, CPIO, RPM and DEB
  
• For ZIP and GZIP formats 7-Zip provides compression ratio that is 2-10 % better than ratio provided by PKZip and WinZip
  
• Self-extracting capability for 7z format
  
• Integration with Windows Shell
  
• Powerful File Manager
  
• Powerful command line version
  
• Plugin for FAR Manager
  
• Localizations for 50 languages
  

[Haddas]

POW! - A great pop-up killer I use on all my machines, both at work and at home.

What's a popup? Haven't seen those in ages!

[x_traveler_x]

Does everyone know that you can use iTunes to convert MID midi files to MP3 or WAV?  There are many other programs that do this, but they cost money.  iTunes is free!   I hope that many people find this knowledge as helpful as I did.

[alkis21]

Good list. I'd like to add:

MISCELLANEOUS

EZ Label Xpress Lite - Create and print multipurpose CD and DVD labels

Anet Help Tool- Create Windows Help Files (this is actually a shareware program, but there's a freeware version which allows you to create a help file of up to 10 topics)

SYSTEM

Avast Home Edition- In my opinion, a much better antivirus program than AntiVir and AVG

[Robbie]

J-Split (JR Split File)Ã,  http://www.spadixbd.com/freetools/jsplit.htm
Splits a large file into several small ones, and generates a simple batch file to stitch the bits together again at the other end. Does not harm the original file. Extremely easy to use, whether splitting or restoring.

I've used J-Split to spread files across floppy disks (my old laptop doesn't have a working CD drive) and also to send a program via e-mail to a recipient whose ISP blocks attachments above a given size.

I'd also like to agree with RickJ about 7-Zip (http://www.7-zip.org/), which is a FANTASTIC compression/decompression utility. It not only unpacks pretty much everything, but also compresses and makes self-extracting files. And it's so easy to use. Throw away your WinZip and get this!

[Robbie]

Oops! I forgot to mention:

Mo'SloÃ,  http://www.hpaa.com/moslo/basic.asp
Dig out all your old DOS games that you don't play any more because they run too fast on your modern computer. This program will slow them down as much as you need. Runs invisibly - once you get a game set up to go through Mo'Slo, you just click on the game's icon as normal to run it. Can be slightly tricky to figure out how to use, but keep reading the instructions.

The program is labelled "Evaluation Version" for 15 days, and there's an intimidating-looking licence, but if you look closely you'll see that it's completely free in perpetuity for individual recreational use.

[user8192]

Graphics:

Inkscape, http://inkscape.org/, is a free vector graphics editor. I use it on my Linux, but it has binaries for Windows and Mac too.

[Gilbert]

Inscape was linked here already.

I'll propose the subject of this thread be changed to "The Big List of (non-graphics) Freeware Programmes" to have stuff better managed.

[user8192]

Inscape was linked here already.

OK, so kill me ;-)

But what's the use in a list if it's not categorized?

There's no use in a huge flat thread with hundreds of recomendations. It's better to use a wiki instead.

I'll propose the subject of this thread be changed to "The Big List of (non-graphics) Freeware Programmes" to have stuff better managed.

Come to think of it, this thread is silly. There are millions of freewares and each of them manage stuff "better" according to somebody.

[Gilbert]

There is a Wiki, you can always contribute if you want.

[cthulhuloid]

Where can I find a gif animation maker? I searched the thread using Ctrl+F looking for the word gif, but I didn't find anytihng useful, could anyone help me out?
(I forgot to mention I need a FREE gif animation maker, cause I have enough trials).

[Buckethead]

sorry, all gif animators that you can have for free are either trials or you have to save your image with a logo in the middle.

atleast, as far as I know.