5 free software applications for computer geeks

1. Google Chrome – having only a 4th spot on the most downloaded web browsers in CNET’s Download.com, this browser might not be getting all the recognition it deserves. Google Chrome is one of the fastest in terms of speed, so if you want to have a browser that loads web pages and applications in a snap, try this one against your current browser – you just might switch.

URL: http://www.google.com/chrome

2. 7-Zip – most computers are pre-loaded with WinZip and most users still download Winzip and WinRar. 7-Zip in my opinion deserves to be your first choice in zipping files as it is free, supports more archive formats and has a high compression ratio.

If you want real stats, read my post on how 7-Zip compares against WinZip and 7-zip vs. WinRar.

URL: http://www.7-zip.org/

3. SyncBack Freeware – corporate computers usually have their own backup solution purchased from reputable companies, but most home users do not have a utility software to manage backups. This backup utility is so good that CNET gave this tool a 5 stars editor’s rating.

URL: http://www.2brightsparks.com/

4. Notepad ++ – yeah sure, you already have Notepad to edit text files but you are missing a lot if you have not tried Notepad ++. Perhaps built for programmers, Notepad ++ has text color coding for scripts depending on file or language types so this way you won’t have to have a hard time looking for that closing tag or bracket.

It integrates well with Windows Explorer – just right click a file then choose edit with Notepad ++. Casual users will also appreciate its easy to use interface.

URL: http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/

5. Windows Live Writer – for bloggers who find the web-based blog editors too painful and cumbersome to use, this lightweight software from Microsoft lets you post blogs to popular blogging services like Blogger, WordPress, Live Spaces and I could bet that in the future it will support Facebook and other blog services as well.

The great thing about this blogging tool is that users familiar with Word will pick-up this tool very easily. It supports community developed plugins that make blogging much easier than ever. For example, you can easily add watermarks to photos in Windows Live Writer and add social bookmarking icons to your posts also.