Can't afford to buy software. Seeking free windows software programs (any programs!) that are as good or better than their for-cost counterparts. What can you recommend?
posted by luvmywife on Jul 24, 2012 - 16 answers

What is the absolute cheapest way to get Windows 7? [more inside]
posted by tucsongal on Dec 24, 2009 - 15 answers

What's the best free or open source software (for Windows XP) which will scan multiple pages in a row and output a PDF with zero fuss? [more inside]
posted by cowbellemoo on Nov 3, 2009 - 3 answers

So there are a lot of free (as in beer) FPSes out there. Are there any free racing games of similar caliber? [more inside]
posted by Plutor on Mar 24, 2009 - 17 answers

I would like to use the new release of Thunderbird (2.0) with my Yahoo account and am looking for a free SMTP service. I know Gmail lets you use its servers but apparently changes the 'From' field of the message to username@gmail.com for all messages. Is there any other service that I can use, apart from my ISP's (I shuffle between work, school and home). [more inside]
posted by sk381 on Apr 19, 2007 - 6 answers

Is there a decent antivirus for MS server operating systems that doesn't cost a breathtaking amount? [more inside]
posted by jfuller on Mar 11, 2007 - 11 answers

Seeing that it's now free, can Microsoft's Virtual PC 2004 work with Windows Media Center Edition 2002 - sp2 as the host OS? [more inside]
posted by Jhaus on Jul 12, 2006 - 4 answers

Any such thing as a free DVD/CD writing software for Windows? [more inside]
posted by sublivious on Jan 16, 2006 - 8 answers

Are there any free software firewalls that run on Windows 2000 Server? [more inside]
posted by smackfu on Oct 13, 2005 - 7 answers

Hard disk management. I have several hard drives, running from 20GB to 120GB. My primary C: drive is on the 20GB drive, and the other day I noticed it was taking quite a while to do things, the C: drive was down to about 20MB of disk space! What I'm looking for is a disk manager that would look at hard drive and tell me what folders are taking up what space on the hard drive, so I could prune the offending directories. I'm on Windows 2000, and would prefer freeware.
posted by patrickje on Nov 8, 2004 - 11 answers

Can somebody suggest a good, free file search/download/share utility that won't gum up my Windows computer with a ton o' spyware?
posted by alumshubby on Sep 21, 2004 - 8 answers

My laptop has taken to switching itself off at random intervals, but only at my parents or in-laws houses. The general consensus is that these houses are hotter than my own and it may be just enough to upset my system.

Can anyone recommend a good freeware (pref OpenSource) program to check up on the internal temperatures of the system? I'm running WinXP.
posted by twine42 on Jan 21, 2004 - 8 answers

I'd like a good calendar app that does things like color-code events, remind me of dates (when I log on or start up, even if the calendar isn't running), and come with stuff like major holidays pre-coded. That's why I'm not happy with the WOrks Calendar.

Oh, and I'd like it to be free, and Windows XP comaptible. I've done the searching, and am so far empty-handed. Do you folks use anything you'd recommend?
posted by tr33hggr on Jan 4, 2004 - 7 answers