Software that I use Everyday
Irfanview - Irfanview is a graphics viewer that is freely available to non commercial users. It is on par with other graphics viewers such as ACDSEE, which are fairly expensive. Irfanview is in that tradition of the early web where somebody with some skills just wanted to do something they are proud of and share it with other like minded people. Irfanview is a great viewer for much more technically complicated things than viewing your digital photos, but it does that and does it well. You can also do edits to your pictures, like resizing, changing file formats, renaming, rotating. So go to the Irfanview site and download the program and all the plugins. You will be glad you did!
WinRar - WinRar is the premium application for compression of various file types. Its default method of compression is the .rar format which is equal to or superior to the .zip format in every respect. However, WinRar can also handle the .zip format with ease, an important aspect since it is so predominant. WinRar will also compress and open the MacIntosh file types. WinRar is a product of Rar Labs. It is shareware, so you can run it for a test drive before you decide to buy it. For comparision, you may also want to go to WinZip, which is the primary competition.
PopUpCop - PopUpCop is a great program to have if you are annoyed by pop ups (or almost anything else on the web). It works by blocking pop up ads that many sites use as a form of advertising. It also has the ability to block or filter many other types of internet nuisances if you desire, such as animated gifs, flash animation, active x controls, and many others. And it is completely customizable. You install it and it takes a place on the Internet Explorer toolbar. PopUps are gone! There is a trial version you can download here, so take it for a test run.
Google Toolbar - Google, the famous search engine, has a great new toolbar. It, like PopUpCop, sets on the toolbar of Internet Explorer and does all kinds of helpful things for you. It is a great search tool used to search the web using all the standard Google search features made so easily and instantly available. Also, it can be used to go to Google News, already mentioned as one of my most helpful sites. And importantly, it is a very effective pop up blocker, although not quite as slick as PopUpCop, it is still very effective and so very easy to use. Plus, it is free. So go get your free download today. You will be glad you did.
