If you are into graphics or web design, chances are you work with fonts sometimes. If so, Font Xplorer is a cool program you might find useful.

It enables you to browse installed fonts on your computer and also non installed fonts. It lets you type some text and then compare it in various fonts until you finally find what looks right. It also lets you do a whole host of other things such as load, unload, install, uninstall fonts, and search for duplicate fonts. Detailed font info is available (such as full name, copyright, embedding info, available character sets etc.).

One feature I like is how you can choose to only view certain selected fonts,useful when making your final decision about what font best suits your needs. This is a useful tool for anyone who works with fonts! It’s also freeware!

Go here to download it and read more info.

Universal Extractor is a neat little tool to extract files from archives. The most common File archive file formats you’re likely to find online are zip and rar, but there’s also many others too. This program lives up to its name by being able to extract them all.

Here are some of the more common formats it can handle: .7z, .exe, .bin, .cue, .tar.gz, .img, .deb, .rpm, .cab, .rar, .dll, .jar, .xpi. For the full list of all the formats it supports (quite a lot!) click here.

It’s a useful tool for peaking inside installer package files to see whats exactly in them before installing.

So this is a useful tool for people such as programmers and IT people who might be working with several different archive types from time to time.

More info and download available at the homepage here.

Abisoft is an open source, freeware word processing program that works in a similar fashion to Microsoft Word. It’s actually multi platform (currently available for Windows, Linux, QNX, FreeBSD or Solaris).

This program is able to both read and write OpenOffice.org documents, Microsoft Word documents, WordPerfect documents, Rich Text Format documents, HTML web pages and much more.

What i like about it is the smallness of it and it doesn’t require a whole lot of resources to run it, which is a good thing at anytime, but especially if you’re on a somewhat older computer. This has all the features most people use and non of the unnecessary ones.

It’s worth checking out if you need the basic functions of this kind of software but without all the bloat of similar programs and without having to pay a penny!

Go to the homepage here.

Maya Personal Learning Edition is a cut down version of Autodesk’s Maya. For anyone who doesn’t know, Maya is a very well respected (and very expensive!) high end 3D graphics and animation program.

Chances are that whenever you see any of the latest 3D blockbuster cartoon (or special effects intensive) movies for example, Maya is probably one of the programs involved along the way, as it can do some very impressive stuff.

The problem is it takes a long time to master, if thats ever even possible! Also it’s very costly to purchase. So thats why they offer Maya Personal learning edition, which is basically free for non-commercial use!

For detailed info check it out here.

Since you are reading this site, chances are you might be someone who downloads and tries out various software from time to time, right?

A downside to the Windows operating system is that when you uninstall programs, it doesn’t always remove everything, it can leave traces in the registry and also leftover files or folders here and there. These can clutter up and slow your system over time. There’s also the chance you might install something that just doesn’t agree with your system and messes it up.

Returnil virtual system is a program that lets you create a ‘virtual system’. This way, you can try out programs without really installing them, which means nothing can get messed up! Basically, what this means is that when it’s set to ON, any changes or installations you make will immediately be undone when you restart your computer. The home edition is free for personal use!

Check it out here for more details and the download.

You know when you’re installing or uninstalling a program and windows tells you that you need to reboot? Well sometimes this isn’t even necessary, causing you to waste valuable minutes of your life waiting for your computer to get back into action again!

WhyReboot is a small application that tells you which files will change or be deleted,etc.upon reboot,if any, so that you can decide if a reboot is needed or not.

Its a small utility (100k) and thats all it does. But if you hate waiting around because your computer is a slow starter,then it might be of some time saving use to you!
It’s also free!

You can get it over here.

Musicip Mixer is a program that allows you to create music playlists based on the sonic qualities of each song. This means the program analyses your song collection and finds songs that sound similar based on various characteristics of the songs. It then is able to generate a playlist based on that information.

After it analyzes your collection (the first time you run it), it will analyze each new song you add to your collection automatically. When you’re listening to a song you simply tell the program to make a playlist of similar “sounding” songs. Basically it acts as a virtual DJ, as opposed to just picking songs totally at random!

I’ve used the winamp plug-in and I like it. So if you listen to a lot of music on your computer, its well worth checking out!
It’s also available as a stand alone program and in free and premium versions.

You can get more information and download it at the homepage.

The Opera web browser may not get as much of the spotlight as its more famous cousins Internet Explorer and Firefox do, but it’s definitely a force to be reckoned with in the world of Internet Browsers. It aims to be and claims to be the fastest and most secure web browser on earth!

Which is a big thing to claim. As far as speed goes, it certainly lives up to its claim as pages seem to load fast and smoothly.

It has some unique features, such as widgets you can add, as well as a large selection of skins and customization options. The latest version comes with anti-fraud protection to keep you safer online.

I recommend checking out Opera if you want a fast, safe, feature filled, regularly updated browser and are looking for a change from the big two (IE and Firefox)

You can download opera for free at the homepage here.

These days it is often easier to get hold of someone through instant messaging than even calling their phone. If you are looking for a good way to get into the instant messaging ring, but you want something more advanced than the standard email clients, RetroShare has a ton of potential.

Not only can you talk to your friends, but you can also open different channels for chats, and you can share files securely. This saves a lot of time and effort, and also allows you the ability to group chat, which many of the most common instant messaging clients do not allow.
 
Released in September of 2007, this version of RetroShare has been updated and repaired with a faster start up, and extra data for the GUI. This program is becoming more and more versatile as time goes by, and it may just be the best way to stay in touch and share files and information with one another.

To get your copy, go to: http://retroshare.sf.net/

If you are looking for a fun way to keep yourself entertained, but you don’t want to go out and spend a ton of money on video games or movies, Freeciv may be just the thing for you. Available for both Macintosh and Windows, Freeciv is an open source game which allows you to build your own civilization and try to be the best ruler in the world.

While the game is very similar to the Civilization series, it also has its differences. In any case, Freeciv can afford you a ton of joy and entertainment without an unreasonable price tag. Plus, it is much more flexible with your operating system than many of the more popular games.

Whether you want to start a game with your friends or play alone, Freeciv has tons of options and you can even customize the rules of game play to make your game more or less difficult depending on your skill level.

To start playing now, check out: http://www.freeciv.org/