The Top Freeware Apps Chosen by Maximum PC Readers!

David Murphy — Tue, 12 May 2009 18:00:00 -0500

One of the most rewarding parts of doing these weekly freeware roundups for Maximum PC is the sheer wealth of software that I get to play with each month -- applications that I not only use myself, but ones that I feel compelled to tell you about as well. But coming in a close second are the responses that you, the readers, leave in these posts. For as much as I scour the Internet to find awesome new programs for you to check out, you, too, have become my eyes and ears for finding the latest in amazing free software.

You might guess where this one's going. I'm jumping in the pool of Maximum PC users this week and highlighting programs that you, yourselves, have recommended in the various comments you've posted to these articles. For a number of you have left links and suggestions of compelling alternatives or hidden gems that relate to the programs I've posted. Although I'm featuring your best answers this week, don't let that stop you from joining the discussion. If a certain freeware application has really caught your eye, jump in the thread and say something! Or hit me up on Twitter and let me know when you've found something great!

Rocketdock

What it does: Feel like mimicking the dock in Apple's OSX? Turn over to the dark side with Rocketdock, an neat little application that lets you create a pretty floating toolbar on top the edge of your desktop. According to MPC user AntiHero, "Rocketdock is probably one of my top 5 favorite desktop enhancers." And it's easy to see why -- dragging and dropping the programs you use on a fairly frequent basis onto this auto-expanding launcher is a lot more fun (and eye-catching) then the boring ol' Windows Quick Launch section.

Download it here!

Fences

What it does: MPC users SEALBoy and SirBC love StarDock's Fences. I don't blame them. This desktop enhancement application is not only free (+10 points), but it's a great way to organize the icons on your desktop into moveable, resizable groupings. Stardock calls these chunks of programs "fences." To create one, you just have to draw a box around the icons you want to group. Create a "fence" of these grouped icons, or self-contained box that keeps said icons within a defined space. You can alter the size of the box, move the box around, or even use Fences to lay your boxes out using predefined templates. Take that, cluttered desktops.

Download it here!

Battle for Wesnoth

What it does: You might have heard of the Battle for Wesnoth, but I'm willing to bet that you're unfamiliar with the size and scope of this popular freeware turn-based strategy game. I haven't profiled it yet as part of these weekly freeware wrap-ups, and MPC user Loud let me know that fact. He thinks you can sink a lot of time into the Battle for Wesnoth, and I agree: the free game features both single- and multi-player modes, and the graphics are pretty good given its community-driven origins. As you progress through the game's many scenarios, you carry your hardened veterans through successive battles -- that's right, you can't (and shouldn't) just launch a ton of red-shirts (or zergs) at the computer, you have to think strategically

Download it here!

DriverMax

What it does: I've profiled programs that scan your system and tell you when the applications you've installed have updates that you should download. MPC commenter Nekollx was kind enough to point me in the direction of DriverMax, an application that performs the identical task for all of the hardware that's connected to your PC. While you could always rely on, say, Windows Update to tell you that new soundcard or videocard drivers are ready... don't. Windows' in-house upgrading tool is slow at best, quiet at worst. DriverMax tells you when it's time to install the latest updates for your hardware, and it's a must-have addition to any serious PC user's operating system... unless you really like scanning for and installing drivers manually. I don't.

Download it here!

Folding CD Generator

What it does: Want to contribute to the Folding@Home distributed computing experiment with some older hardware, but don't want to go through the hassle of installing operating systems (or hard drives)? MPC user kc7wbq has the answer: the hybrid Folding CD Generator online application / Live CD. That's a mouthful to say, but you'll be surprised at the simplicity of this crafty tool. When you hit up the Website, you'll be given a series of prompts that will ask you about your particular Folding@Home habits (as well as your user name and passkey for the service; important if you want to join the MPC team for the Chimp Challenge!). Fill out the questions, and the site will auto-create a customized ISO file for your information. Burn the ISO to a CD, boot off this CD when you go to run a computer, and you'll be doing your part to help cure diseases in no time!

"Download" it here!

Microsoft's Open-Source Push?

David Murphy — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 11:00:00 -0600

Remember this quote? "Linux is a cancer that attaches itself in an intellectual property sense to everything it touches." It was uttered by none other than Microsoft frontman Steve Ballmer himself, in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times in 2001. It's no secret that Microsoft has put itself right in the center of the proprietary versus open-source war. But the software giant is now starting to dabble in the dark side of open-source projects itself. We're getting nothing but mixed-signals from Redmond. So what is it, Microsoft? Cancer, or cash-cow?

(photo credit: DBegley)

Cancer

Up on PressPass, Microsoft is touting how it thinks companies should deal with the increasing financial burdens put into place by the weakening economy: buy Microsoft software. That's the gist, here's the nuts. Microsoft suggests that open-source software comes with too many hidden costs and fees, and the support simply isn't where enterprise businesses need to be in order to ensure consistent uptime. Microsoft makes a compelling case by using Speedy Hire, a British company, as its prime example. According to the company, it was able to save nearly $1.5 million by turning away from Linux-based PCs and OpenOffice to Microsoft servers and software. Eat it, OSS.

Cash-Cow

Enter Oxite. Microsoft just released this huge, open-source CMS platform the other day. It can power anything from blogs to Web sites, and can even support multiple users accessing the interface (for running a Gawker of your very own). Wordpress is undoubtedly eyeing this new product quite closely--especially given the new platform's interoperability. The highly-customizable Oxite makes it easy for you to swap out proprietary Microsoft technologies, like Live Search and SQL server, for others you see fit to use.

Cancer

The next battle lines for Microsoft? Robots. That's right. Robots. The company has been working on developing the backbone tools for the next generation of robotics, but it isn't alone! The open-source movement is beginning to make progress in this field as well. Expect to see an eventual showdown in the field (if only it could be decided in a BattleBots-type arena), although there's a silver lining to Microsoft's involvement: "the software giant is also generating a 'huge amount of excitement' for robotics, which is a good thing for the industry, which needs more software development to catch up with the hardware," notes the article.

Cash-Cow

In the past many months, Microsoft has acquired companies that provide open-source code for larger technological platforms. It's even contributed its own code to ongoing open-source projects, presuming that the open-source movement now has the ability to Microsoft's underlying business objectives. Sound crazy? It's completely understandable to think that, and even internal Microsoft folk agree. It's going to take a bit more cajoling before Microsoft's business units, as a whole, are ready to embrace what OSS has to offer.

Winner?

Neither. That's right. Just as Microsoft begins to slowly adopt the tenets of open-source architecture, it's going to fight tooth and nail against any open-source project that threatens its financial livelihood. It's a prudent business move, one that's analogous to dipping a toe into a hot bathtub to check the temperature. If the open-source community can help Microsoft's business goals in some fashion--as the company is starting to recognize--then you'll see a bit of a cultural shift. And that's what's happening in Redmond right now. Microsoft isn't shifting to open-source; it's finding ways it can use open-source to further propagate its business models. And in the places it can't, the company is doing whatever it can to preserve its own ambitions, open-source or otherwise!

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The Top Freeware Apps Chosen by Maximum PC Readers!

Rocketdock

Fences

Battle for Wesnoth

DriverMax

Folding CD Generator

Microsoft's Open-Source Push?

Cancer

Cash-Cow

Cancer

Cash-Cow

Winner?