Windows

The 10 Best Free Programs You’ve Never Heard Of

By EAN ⋅ September 18, 2007 ⋅  Email this Post ⋅  Print this Post ⋅ Post a Comment

At Least According to the Guys at Live Slick

I love a good top ten list. So I was delighted to find one about software that I have possibly never heard of. And if that wasn’t good enough, it’s dedicated to free software. How could it be bad?

Well, the author didn’t seem to understand that software nobody has ever heard of has to actually be stuff that very few people have tried for themselves - and most of the stuff on this list doesn’t quite make that mark. Let’s examine their full list, shall we?

• Their #10 pick was Sharepod, a program that allows file transfer to and from an iPod. While I’m sure it’s probably a great program, it has been featured on a number of prominent tech sites, including Download Squad back in January. Not exactly a program that’s hidden from the world.
• Another program that doesn’t fit the list is IrfanView. This image viewer, although simple looking, is actually a very popular program. So much so, that it’s the 18th most downloaded program on Download.com, clocking in at nearly thirty million downloads.
• My final gripe comes with the inclusion of Blender, a 3D modeler. I’ll admit that it’s not a very well known program - but how many people need a 3D modeling program in the first place?

But just because there are a few mistakes in the list doesn’t mean that it’s all a sham. There are some very good programs on there that anyone reading should check out. Gems like IrfanView, ImgBurn, and AutoHotkey are very well done programs. The rest, not bad - but not essential. I happen to think that every program on the list (except Blender and Windows Live Writer) could use a major face lift.

Check out the full list of software here.