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I like bargains--who doesn't. It's the season. Here are some more free resources at Microsoft. Everyone is familiar with download.com to obtain shareware and freeware. Microsoft is on the bandwagon, too, using Download.com as its download source for most of the software being offered.
I recently discovered a part of their web site that has free downloads of third party software. In some cases you will even be re-directed to download.com to get the file.
Why do I like it? The site is broken into nice categories such as Security or Assistive Technology. Within the larger category, there are further breakdowns. You can look by category, manufacturer and price range. Curiously, the price range is "free-$0." If you select “Other options”, the list will include software that is not free or even cheap. Some of the software is free and some are trial versions that are identified as such.
As an example, if you go to Music & Video, you can select Music Management where you will find 7 programs that supply various tools--all free. The listings include Average User ratings, the link to Download.com and the specifications for the program, including download times. While there is nothing unique about the concept of lists of downloads, it is helpful to have a structure that makes it easy to find stuff you want to try.
Some of the more interesting items I found were:
Rebate Pro-software to help you track your rebate submissions, the serial numbers of products, the rebate due date, and it even prints envelopes mailing in the rebate request.
Medical Spell Checker--Just the thing for you hypochondriacs who want to be accurate when you write others about your condition.
Advanced Diary--I love the description of this software--"it may be the best money you never spent on software." The program is useful not only for keeping the usual kind of diary, but also for recording weight loss amounts or food information.
Snazzy Clock--need something to help you keep track of your time on the computer and you are old enough that digital time is still confusing. This program puts a wooden analog faced clock on your desktop (on top of everything else). It can be changed to digital if you prefer. It will act as an alarm clock and gives you several options for chimes and alarms. As you can see from the picture, it sits on top of whatever is on your screen. You can move it around and it’s easy to turn off.
This one comes from PC World. Sometimes, you want to type or send a file path to a file on your system. If the file is deep in your system, chances are fairly high that you will mis-type it. There’s a way to get an accurate path. Go to the Start menu and select “Run.” Clear whatever text is in the dialog box. Find the icon for the file for which you want to find a path. Drag it to the text box and the path will appear like magic. To copy the path, right click on the dialog box and choose select all (if the path is not selected). Then right click again and select copy from the context menu. Now you can paste the file path wherever you need it.
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