PC World Reveals List of "101 Fantastic Freebies"

March 29, 2007; 03:53 AM
Today, PC World released its “101 Fantastic Freebies” article http://find.pcworld.com/56879, which includes a wide range of free services, downloads, Web sites, and more. Also included is the “People’s Choice Awards” http://find.pcworld.com/56820 survey with input from PCWorld.com visitors. The story is featured in PC World’s May 2007 issue, and will be on newsstands April 10.

For anyone who’s ever wondered which free email service is really the best, or what’s the easiest way to back-up your system, this article delivers valuable information about where to find these freebies. PC World editors tested and evaluated hundreds of downloads and services before narrowing it down to the top 101, with a designated “winner” in each of 23 categories from desktop search tools to video sites. Each service or program had to meet certain criteria in terms of design, usefulness, functionality, and of course, they all had to be free.

From standard services we are all familiar with like IM and e-mail, to freebies that have directly impacted peoples’ lives, PC World editors covered it all. For example, Captain Ronnie Young of the United States Air Force said that Craigslist and Google Earth actually helped save lives during Hurricane Katrina. He and his team used Craigslist to scour the hundreds of postings that listed missing loved ones, and used Google Earth to cross-reference street addresses as existing maps of New Orleans were completely useless since half the city was under water. Young said, “Just because it’s free, that doesn’t mean it’s not up to the task of doing great things…I definitely can credit those free tools for absolutely saving lives.”

Here is the list of our 101 Fantastic Freebies, broken out into 23 categories:

Desktop Search
Google Desktop (winner)
Copernic Desktop Search
Windows Desktop Search
Yahoo! Desktop Search

Windows XP Tweaks
Fresh UI (winner)
Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP
Tweak and Tune

Windows Vista Tweaks
TweakVI Basic (winner)
VistaBootPRO
Easy BCD

Instant Messaging, Voice, and Video
Meebo (winner)
Jajah
Skype
Gizmo
Yahoo! Messenger
Trillian
Windows GAIM
Google Talk

Security
Avast (winner)
ZoneAlarm
AVG Anti-Virus Free
SMAC
Microsoft Windows Defender
Spybot Search & Destroy

Entertainment
VLC Media Player (winner)
iTunes
Foobar2000

Image Editing
Google Picasa (winner)
Snapfire
Irfanview
StudioLine Photo Basic
Microsoft Photo Info
FastStone MaxView
Media Purveyor
GIMP-GNU Image Manipulation Program
Paint.Net

Email for Free
Gmail (winner)
Yahoo! Mail
Microsoft Windows Live Mail
Spamato
Thunderbird
Eudora
IncrediMail

File Sharing
AllPeers (winner)
Pando
uTorrent

Backup and File Synchronization
Mozy (winner)
MediaMax
XDrive
Microsoft SyncToy
Everyday Auto Backup
Microsoft Foldershare

Office Productivity Software & Services
Zoho (winner)
Portable Apps
Google Docs and Spreadsheets
Num Sum
Ajax 13
OpenOffice.org

Time Management
Backpack (winner)
Google Notebook
Sticky Notes
Easy To-Do

Registry Cleaner
TweakNow RegCleaner Standard (winner)
Clean My Registry

Hardware Utility
Belarc Advisor (winner)
SpeedFan
M2 Information

Personal Web
Pageflakes (winner)
Netvibes
Protopage
Google Personalized Home
Windows Live

Blogging
Google Blogger (winner)
WordPress
LiveJournal
Microsoft Windows Live Spaces
AOL People Connection
Yahoo! 360

RSS Reader-Online
Bloglines (winner)
NewsGator Online
Google Reader

RSS Reader-Software
Sage (winner)
Active Web Reader
Tristana RSS Reader
MCE RSS Reader

Web Video Site
YouTube (winner)
Blinkx
Yahoo! Video
Google Video

Notepad Replacement
NoteTab Light (winner)
Crimson Editor
EditPad Lite

Multimedia Tools and Toys
Audacity (winner)
Free iPod Video Converter
PSP Video 9
DVD Shrink

Business Productivity
Google Apps for Your Domain (winner)
Microsoft Office Live
FreeCRM.com

Other
Craigslist
Google Earth
Last.fm
MySpace
PureVolume

To see a list of the freebies broken out alphabetically, go to: http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,130045-page,13-c,freeware/ article.html?tk=pr_3/28/07 (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.)

In addition to the “101 Fantastic Freebies”, we heard from more than 1,800 PCWorld.com readers who rated their satisfaction with the most prominent free software or services in seven main categories for the “People’s Choice Awards”: Antispyware, Web e-mail, Image editing, Media playback, Instant messaging, Desktop search, and Video sharing. This allowed readers to share their opinions with fellow readers and site visitors.

About PC World Communications

PC World Communications, Inc. is the publisher of PC World, PCWorld.com (www.pcworld.com), and home of the PC World Test Center. The winner of the 2005 Maggie Award for Best Computer Magazine/Consumer, PC World has a readership of nearly 4.3 million total purchase influencers (IntelliQuest CIMS, Fall 2006: Total unduplicated, combined Average Issue Audience: Business, Home, and Dual Studies). With an average of over 6.7 million unique visitors per month (HitBox, September 2006 – February 2007), PCWorld.com, winner of the 2005 Neal Award for Best Web Site, is a leading online resource for technology product buyers and users.

About International Data Group (IDG)

International Data Group (IDG) is the world’s leading technology media, events, and research company. IDG publishes more than 300 magazines and newspapers in 85 countries including CIO, CSO, Computerworld, GamePro, InfoWorld, Macworld, Network World, and PC World. IDG’s online network includes more than 450 web sites spanning business technology, consumer technology, digital entertainment and gaming worldwide. IDG’s lead-generation service, IDG Connect, matches technology companies with an audience of engaged, high-quality IT professionals, influencers, and decision makers.

IDG is a leading producer of more than 750 technology-related events including E for All Expo, LinuxWorld Conference & Expo, Macworld Conference & Expo, DEMO, and IDC Directions. IDC, a subsidiary of IDG, is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events. Over 850 IDC analysts in 50 countries provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends.

Additional information about IDG, a privately held company, is available at http://www.idg.com.

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