http://www.digitalone.com.sg/features/article/24607
Gimp
www.gimp.org
Also known as the GNU Image Manipulation Program, Gimp is a popular open-source software that is a credible alternative to Adobe Photoshop.
You get a full suite of painting tools, such as brush, pencil and air brush, plus photo enhancement options, including the ability to fix perspective distortion caused by lens tilt.
If you require more Photoshop-like features, such as Unsharp Mask and Watermark, plug-ins are also available from the Gimp Plug-in registry at registry.gimp.org.
Photoscape
www.photoscape.org
This image editor features a variety of fun and easy-to-use tools that will help you spruce up your vacation photos.
You can combine multiple snapshots into a photo montage and create animated GIF images using multiple images. A face-search tool lets you search for similar faces on the Web based on your portraits.
Paint.NET
www.getpaint.net
Photoshop and Gimp may be too feature-rich for those who do not need advanced image-editing tools. If you just need to do basic cropping and resizing with some special effects and layers, Paint.NET can do the job.
PC MAINTENANCE
Advanced SystemCare 6 Free
www.iobit.com/advancedsystemcareper.html
This well-regarded system optimisation software cleans up your Windows registry, defragments your hard drive and removes junk files.
The do-it-all tool also removes spyware and adware using security definition files and optimises your PC's memory usage to speed up your machine.
Macrium Reflect Free
www.macrium.com/reflectfree.asp
Backing up your files is critical to ensure your precious photos and other data are retained if your PC breaks down. This software offers an intuitive user interface that makes backing up files hassle-free.
You can create a back-up image of an entire hard disk or selected drive partitions. The software also lets you create a rescue CD that gives you access to files in instances when the operating system refuses to boot.
DESKTOP ENHANCEMENTS
ObjectDock
www.stardock.com/products/objectdock
Make your Windows desktop look as slick as Mac OS X with this utility that replaces your Windows taskbar with a dock, giving you quick access to applications. It has a look and feel similar to the MacOS X dock, complete with zoom animation as you roll over application icons.
Sticky Notes
www.igorv.com/Content/Applications/StickyNotes.aspx
Paste virtual sticky notes on your Windows desktop to remind yourself of tasks and appointments, or use the programme just to jot down ideas and birthdays. Notes can be formatted to include fonts, colours, background transparency and hyperlinks.
Fences
www.stardock.com/products/fences
Reduce desktop clutter with Fences, a programme that helps you group your desktop icons based on your own labels. For example, you can group folders and applications by project and label them accordingly.
INTERNET TOOLS
YTD Video Downloader
www.ytddownloader.com
Save your favourite YouTube videos on your PC using this tool. It allows you to download and convert the videos into digital video files (MP4, WMV, AVI etc). Simply enter a YouTube URL to download the video and choose the preferred video quality and format.
Download Accelerator Plus
www.speedbit.com
This is a must-have free software for anyone who frequently downloads files and programs from the Internet.
The software increases download speeds by breaking up downloads into smaller chunks and seeking alternative servers to download the same file. Downloads can be resumed after a connection is lost.
DIGITAL MEDIA
VLC Media Player
www.videolan.org/vlc
This open-source programme is a gem for digital media playback. It supports a wide variety of audio and video formats including AAC, MP3, DIVX and MPEG-4.
All the necessary codecs are built in so there is no need to download additional ones.
You can personalise the media player with downloadable skins from www.videolan.org/vlc/skins.php.
Audacity
audacity.sourceforge.net
Another open source favourite, Audacity is an audio editor that lets you produce podcasts or put an audio production together. Besides recording live audio, the software will convert tapes and records into digital recordings. Equalisers and other sound effects are also available for you to fine-tune your creation.
PRODUCTIVITY
Fuji Xerox SkyDesk
www.skydesk.jp
SkyDesk is a cloud-based software developed by Japanese IT giant Fuji Xerox for small companies.
Services in the free tier include an online office productivity suite similar to Google Docs, and an e-mail and a customer relationship management system that can maintain a customer database and track sales leads. The SkyDesk Cards mobile app for iOS and Android devices can scan and upload up to 50 business cards to the Skydesk service.
OpenOffice
www.openoffice.org
A useful alternative to Microsoft's powerful Office franchise, OpenOffice.org is a full-fledged office productivity suite comprising word processing, spreadsheet, database and presentation software. Its compatibility with Microsoft Office documents has also been improved over the years.
Thunderbird
www.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird
This open-source e-mail client lets you read e-mail messages in multiple tabs. Be sure to install the attachment reminder add-on, which will look for the word "attachment" in the body of your message and remind you to add a file before you hit Send.
SECURITY
AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition
free.avg.com
This popular free security software needs no introduction. A good alternative to paid security software products, AVG offers good protection against Internet security threats.
Its anti-virus and anti-malware engine detects viruses and malware, and scans your e-mail messages for malicious files.
ZoneAlarm Free Firewall
www.zonealarm.com/security/en-us/zonealarm-pc-security-free-firewall.htm
Protect your PC against hackers and security breaches with this free firewall software that will detect abnormal network traffic and behaviour.
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