By: Justin Williams
For this article, I thought I would go ahead and list ten programs you should download right now. Everyone enjoys downloading new software. It can be exciting coming across new and interesting programs. I have tried hundreds of different software programs. Some of them were amazing, some of them were horrible. Over the years though I have developed a list of some of my favorites and often recommend these programs to friends and family. I should note though that many websites that carry articles do not allow more then a couple links in the main body of the article. Because of this, I am unable to include download links for each program. However, if you do a search for them on Google, you can find where to download them. Alternatively, you can visit my website where I have uploaded this article and included links inside the article to download each program. The web address is listed in my author info.
Okay, so now it's time for me to list ten of these programs I love so that you can go ahead and try them out yourself. As of writing this, all of them have free versions, and they are in no particular order.
Agent Ransack
Agent Ransack is a great program. Agent Ransack basically lets you search your computer for specific files. Some people may be wondering why you should download Agent Ransack when you can use the Windows File Search. Well, Agent Ransack is much quicker. I have found that a quick file search with Agent Ransack can just take a few minutes. With Windows File Search on the other hand, it's taken up to an hour for me. Just download Agent Ransack and you will be able to easily find files on your computer.
AVG Anti-virus
This is actually a pretty popular software program, so it's possible that you already have it. AVG Anti-Virus is, you guessed it, an anti virus program. So why should you download AVG when you could go out and buy Norton or McAfee? Well, AVG Anti-Virus has a free version. That's right, you don't need to pay any money to protect yourself from viruses! Just download the free version of AVG, update often, and put your computer virus worries to rest.
ManyCam
Have a webcam? Like to video chat on MSN or Skype? Then you are going to love this program. ManyCam works with your webcam to create some really cool effects when you video chat with your friends. For instance, you can pick from different hats and ManyCam will have the hat follow your head on webcam. You can do various screen effects like warp, shrink, etc. You can even change the background and make it appear like you're talking from inside a fish tank. ManyCam is a very cool program and it's totally free.
MyHeritage Family Tree Builder
Genealogy is a very popular topic these days. With many ancestry websites and family tree programs, you can easily go about creating your own family tree. Unfortunately, most family tree software programs will cost you money. Fortunately, MyFamilyTree has a free version. Even in the free version, MyFamilyTree has all the usual features that Family Tree Software programs have, and yes, you can import your GEDCom database. If you have been wanting to build a family tree but the cost was your excuse not to, now you have no excuse. Download Family Tree Builder and start creating that large family tree that you can later share with your family at Thanksgiving.
OpenOffice
Need a word processor? Need a spreadsheet program? Need a program to create presentations? If you answered yes to any of these but don't have the money to buy Microsoft Office (who does?) then you will love OpenOffice. OpenOffice is an open-source office suite with all the usual office programs. Write up documents, create worksheets, draw sketches, design presentations, yup, it's all here. Best of all, OpenOffice is absolutely free. Yes, you read that right. OpenOffice is free. What are you waiting for? Go check it out.
Real Lives
Real Lives is a fun little game. Part geography, part the Sims, Real Lives gives you the chance to live the life of someone in another country. You don't get to see the character, but you get to read how they progress from year to year and make their key life decisions. Want to go to college? Want to work in the government? Want to ask for a raise? Want to get married? It's all here. However, your life will vary depending on the country you choose to live in. Picking political activism as one of your hobbies may sound nice in a place like the United States, but it's not fun when you read that your character was arrested and executed because they were protesting in a country like North Korea. ;) Real Lives will really make you stop and think just how different life can be from country to country. If you have any interest at all in geography or in the world in general, check out Real Lives.
Seterra
If you have any interest in geography, you may want to download Seterra in addition to Real Lives. Seterra is an educational game full of geography quizzes. Think you know all of the country capitals in the world? How about the state capitals? What about the various flags in the world? Now is your chance to prove it with the quizzes in Seterra. Also, there is a high score feature so you can compare your scores to your family and friends and finally decide who is truly the geography king.
SpywareBlaster
It seems like Spyware is everywhere these days. Even doing something as simple as visiting a website can get your computer infected. So when people ask me how to avoid Spyware, I answer with SpywareBlaster. SpywareBlaster basically has a long list of harmful ActiveX plug-ins that SpywareBlaster will block from installing onto your system. You don't even need to keep SpywareBlaster running all the time. Just download SpywareBlaster, make sure it's updated, and click to enable the protection. Just like that, your computer is protected from thousands of different Spyware programs. Very cool.
Trillian
So how many of you use MSN? How about Yahoo? How about AIM? Well, if you use any of these, you are going to love Trillian. Trillian has the capability to connect to all of the different IM networks. That means you can be signed in on AIM, MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, IRC, etc. and only have to load one messenger! Seriously, do you realize just how much memory it takes to keep multiple messengers running? Trillian takes less memory to run then a single regular messenger uses. If you use multiple messengers, do your computer a favor and just download Trililan. It's fast, simple, and of course, there's a free version.
WorldWide Telescope
Finally, we come to WorldWide Telescope. Worldwide Telescope has got to be one of the coolest educational programs and is created by Microsoft. Unfortunately, WorldWide Telescope has not gotten nearly as much attention as it deserves, in my opinion. Have you tried Google Earth before and looked at the satellite images all over the world? WorldWide Telescope is like Google Earth, but for the night sky. With Worldwide Telescope, you can look at how the night sky looks from your location and learn about all of the different stars that you normally see outside. Also, you can zoom in on the sky and look closely at pictures of galaxies and other objects that were taken by the Hubble Telescope. If you have any interest at all in Astronomy, then you have got to try WorldWide Telescope.
Well, hopefully you have found some programs that you hadn't heard of before. Hopefully now you are in the process of downloading some of them. Trying out new software can be exciting and all of the programs mentioned here are especially exciting. Have fun!
