30 fresh downloads

Although the choice of software offered by mainstream software makers may seem rather limited, there’s never been more on offer for those prepared to wander even a short way off the beaten track – and we are here to guide you.

Here we’ve put together our selection of 30 free programs that many people have probably never heard of.

Some are specialised, one or two are fun, but most are genuine beauties that deserve a wider audience.

The Computeractive library (www.computeractive.co.uk/downloads), for example, has hundreds of free programs ready for download that can do a good job – and in some cases an excellent one.

As usual with downloadable software there are a few caveats: if a program’s claims seem outlandish, then it may have some nasty spyware squirreled away inside it.

Similarly, we’re afraid it’s not possible to get 80 per cent off recently released Microsoft products, no matter what the nice man says in the email, so steer clear of individuals and companies that appear to flout the law because they usually are doing that. Instead, keep to the better lit parts of the internet and, like us, you’ll discover a wealth of useful software that many people overlook.

1. Copy, copy, copy, paste
Piky Basket 2.0: www.conceptworld.com
The copy, move and paste commands in Windows are all well and good but the peculiarly named Piky Basket adds its own turbocharge. Got files and folders in many locations and need to move them to a single, new folder? Go round selecting the files and folders, right-click and then drop them into Piky Basket from the menu. Navigate to the destination folder, right-click again and choose copy, move or empty basket to bring all the highlighted files together into the new location. It’s innovative and easy to use. Piky Basket deserves a home on any hard disk.

2. Windows Vista: are you ready?
Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor: http://tinyurl.com/27pekc
Given that there are some discrepancies between what the different interested parties believe makes a good Vista-ready PC, this is worth downloading. It rummages through the PC’s innards and ascertains whether or not it will run Vista happily and which flavour of Microsoft’s new operating system is most suitable. Remember that not all

Vista-ready PCs are able to run the full Aero interface, with all its transparency and fancy 3D effects.

3. Flexible, friendly picture editing
Photofiltre: http://tinyurl.com/45hn6
Although the author’s trying to make a few bob by pushing the paid-for Photofiltre Studio, the free version – Photofiltre 6 – remains a must-have download for anyone without a graphics program.

It works with all the popular picture and photo formats, has stacks of filters for applying special effects, good tools for cleaning up old photos and improving poor ones, as well as a growing collection of add-ons, which are also free. Small, quick, slick, easy to use (there are great tutorials on the site) and very reliable, Photofiltre is the best free picture editor no-one’s heard of.

4. Delete files properly
Simple File Shredder: www.scar5.com
Windows is a bit slapdash when it comes to removing files. Many can be recovered by someone who knows what they’re doing. To prevent this, use Simple File Shredder, which will overwrite the file with random data before deleting it. In plain English, that means the file is gone for good. Therefore, use it with caution and only on those files and folders that you have really, really finished with.

5. Create pdf files from any program
Cutepdf Writer: www.cutepdf.com
This tool transforms Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, web pages – in fact almost anything that has a Print function – into pdf files that anyone with Adobe Reader can open, search and navigate, just as if they’d been created by one of the expensive Adobe Acrobat products. With the software installed, just go to File, then Print, and then when the Print dialogue box opens, select Cutepdf Writer as the printer and click OK.

When the software asks for a destination folder just select one and click Save. One word of warning: there are two parts to this great program – Cutepdf Writer itself and the Ghostscript converter, which does all the work behind the scenes. They’re both on the site. Download the converter first and install it, then download Cutepdf and install that.