Instantbird: Mozilla based Pidgin.

It seems like nowadays, XUL based freeware is spreading to every type of program, and instant messaging is no exception. Instantbird is a multi-protocol IM client that uses Pidgin's libpurple to deliver the messages, and Mozilla's XUL library to display the interface. In other words: Pidgin turned Firefox.


Protocols.
Of course, what would a multi-protocol client be without protocols?

• AIM
• Facebook
  
• Gadu-Gadu
• Google Talk
• GroupWise
• ICQ
• IRC
• MSN/WindowsLive
• MyspaceIM
• Netsoul
• QQ
• Simple
• XMPP
• Yahoo

 Addons.
 One of the nice things about Instantbird being built off XUL is that -like Firefox and Thunderbird- you have a plethora of addons you can get to further customize it to your liking. You can add Emoticons, Message Styles, Protocols, Themes, and more, just like Firefox, there's pretty much everything your heart could desire. Unfortunately, because Instantbird is so young, there are barely any addons, like in the case of Protocols, only one (and it's in development). So the addons are definitely a good feature, but they need some time to grow.

 Baby Steps.
To be honest, Instantbird kind of has a ways to go. You are unable to set the sound scheme (other than diving into a JAR file and manually replacing the WAV files), you can set a custom "Away" message, but you cannot have things like "Do Not Disturb" or Invisibility, and downloading Instantbird from the website presents only a ZIP file, which would be great if Instantbird was portable, but it's not. Things like a custom sound scheme (possibly even as an addon), custom Away messages (which Pidgin has mastered), or an Installer or Portable version of Instantbird are just several examples of the next steps that Instantbird needs to take. Don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean it's not a wonderful app. I downloaded it and it sits right along Pidgin and Miranda in my start menu. I can start it up, and have all of the basic functionality that I need from any of the other multi-protocol clients.

The good, and the future.
The things that I do admire about Instantbird is that it is open source and cross platform. In a way, Instantbird is much like Songbird: it's a non-Mozilla app built off XUL that has practically unlimited potential. The wonderful thing about Songbird is that with most media players, you think "Gee, I wish it had [this feature] or [that feature]," but Songbird fills that with the customization from addons. And that's what Instantbird could do. Imagine an Instant Messaging client with all the power of Pidgin, enhanced with hundreds of addons! An addon for webcam chat, an addon for browser integration, an addon for buddy pounces....the possibilities are endless! The only thing standing in Instantbird's path to being a truly magnificent piece of freeware (available on all three primary operating systems) is time. I personally can't wait to see what Instantbird will bring to the table when it's more mature. It's already a good client now. In a few years, it could be amazing.

Visit Instantbird website for download

Data Crow: Media cataloger that's simply caw-esome

Almost everyone owns media. Books, DVDs, CDs, Software, it's all around us. Sometimes it can get a bit messy of what you have or don't have, and you might be looking for a way to organize it, and Data Crow can do just that.

Data Crow is a multi-featured media cataloger, designed to make it extremely easy to keep track of you various types of media. Right off the bat, it handles CDs, Movies, Books and even Software. It's pretty straightforward and easy to use, but also has the ability to be extremely customizable to an experienced user.

 Almost every single area of Data Crow is extremely well organized. It has everything divided up into "Modules" that can be enabled and disabled, so you can choose your own list of items you want to keep track of (example, "CDs", "Movies", "Books", etc). Under each module, there is also sub-Modules, like "Actors" or "Directors" for the "Movies" module, or "Artist" for the "CDs" module. Furthermore, under a module, you have a list of the items, like for example, I have "Extreme Days....I-Robot....Monty Python....." under my Movies, but you can also choose different ways to sort, like by "Actors", "Year", "Director", or just even by "Title".

The thing that (A) most impressed me, and (B) drew me to Data Crow is the ability to import an item. There's a TON of information for media items. Instead of entering in a DVD's title, director, actors, front cover, play length and other stuff that you might want, you can also just import all that data with a few clicks. The "Item Wizard" lets you search various online databases for the item that you have right in front of you. You can use the ISBN for things like books, and the UPC (barcode) for CDs, Movies, Software, etc. It's extremely accurate (from when I've used it). It uses well known sites like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, IMDB, SourceForge.net and gets almost every field available (depending on what site you choose). If the websites miss something or get it wrong, you can always manually edit a field.

The only other features I can think of to mention are Report and Filter. Data Crow can generate amazing reports in either PDF or HTML of an entire Module (ie, CDs, Movies). Very nice, if you need a detailed list of every CD/Book/DVD you own. It also has Filtering, which will bring up only the Movies/CDs/Books that match your filter, whether it be Actor, Author, Director, Title, etc.

The only thing that I was disappointed in was the ability to create your own module. Sounds great, right? Yeah, I thought the same thing too. I wanted to make a module dedicated to Steam games, but I found the process extremely difficult, and in the end, it just did not work out at all like I hoped. That being said, please don't let that taint your vision of Data Crow. I actually did create a good module, it just sorted the fields alphabetically, which put "Title" halfway down the list other than on top.

Otherwise, it really is a wonderful program. It's written in JAVA, meaning that it is cross platform. To be honest, Data Crow is the first program that's written in Java that I actually enjoy profusely. Other programs do their job well, but they still have that Java-y feel to them, and they're often slow. Not Data Crow. It can actually be skinned to where it hardly feels like Java, and it's extremely fast.
On top of that, Data Crow is portable, and open source. What more could you ask?

Visit Data Crow website for Download

Folding@home: Ask not what freeware can do for you....

Freeware can be really handy. Just browsing the freeware on this little site can show you that. It's just downright helpful. Checking e-mails, browsing the web, chatting with friends, writing work documents, listening to music, organizing wedding photos, you name it. Freeware helps in many areas of life. But who helps freeware?

Folding@home is a very interesting idea created by Pande Lab at Stanford University as a way to help us understand the "art" of protein folding. Proteins do what is called "folding," essentially changing form and purpose in the time span of a microsecond, and understanding how and why they do this could help us find the cures to many diseases, and help us better understand our own psychological structure. (That's just my understanding of it.)

You might think that a supercomputer is the best way to get this done, but that's actually not the case. The best way to virtually fold the maximum amount of proteins is to actually have it spread out on a ton of computers, all over the world. What better way than to do it in our households? "Folding@home" is a computer program that simulates how a protein will fold, and does so "at home" on all types of computers. It uses the host computer's processor to fold a specific protein, then sends that data back to "headquarters" (Stanford).

You may be a little skeptical, but Folding@home really does produce results. All you have to do is install it, set it up (just a little configuration), and add it to run on startup, and you'll forget it's running. I've run it on multiple computers over the years, and I've never seen a decrease in performance when it's running. You can set the priority and even make it stop if you switch to battery (for laptops) so it doesn't eat up your battery life. Overall, it doesn't require anything of the user, and helps so much. Why not start folding?

Also, as a bit of an incentive, you can also keep track of how much you've folded. You can register a username and even join a team, and you can compare your "work load" with others in your team, or even compare your team with other teams. In fact, there's actually a FreewareWire Folding@home team, in case anyone wants to join. To join a team, just type the team number, (for example, 174576 for the FreewareWire team) into the "Configuration" window of your F@h client, right below your username, and bam, you are linked in to that team. But don't feel pressure to join the FW team. There are plenty of teams out there, from a Google team to Duncan's (mobilephone2003 of Youtube) team (whom I must mention, since he's the one who first introduced me to F@h). Just pick whatever team you want, and fold away. Or don't even choose a team, if you don't want. Just start folding, somehow.

With so little cost and so much gain, why not start folding? Freeware gives a ton to us. Let's give a little back to freeware.

Visit Folding@home website for download

Songbird: Sing a song of freedom!

iTunes is one of the most used and well known music players, currently, but that doesn't mean that there's not free, open-sourced alternatives that are just as good, if not better. Songbird is one of those alternatives.

Usually, I don't like to "compare" freeware right off the bat, but the reason is because Songbird (at least in my mind) is a open source, better iTunes. It has alot of the same look and feel, but with better features.

First off, Songbird runs on XUL, the same thing that runs all Mozilla products (Firefox, Thunderbird, InstantBird, Miro, Spicebird, and of course, Mozilla), meaning that it really has the feel of a Mozilla product to it. Secondly, this means that it is completely cross platform, even though it is not as supported on Mac or Linux or Solaris as it is on Windows.

Addons.

So what makes Songbird so great? Good question! It really is the "Firefox of media players" in that it is extremely customizable. Just like Firefox and Thunderbird, it has addons that can be installed to further increase just how you want your media player to be. This can range from a different media view (like cover flow) to an alarm clock to displaying the Wikipedia article of the artist right there in your library. Granted, the addons are definitely not as vast as Firefox's, but they are growing every day.

Browser.

Another extremely noticeable difference from other media players is that it has its own web browser built in. That's right, it has a little Firefox(ish) browser, with addons and everything. The reasoning is that you can use that browser for searching for music, which I find very refreshing. But please, don't think this will replace your everyday browser, because it does not have all the features of a full fledged web browser, and it's not intended to.

Features.

So it has a web browser, and plugins. What else? Well, it also has the ability to add different stores, to search for concerts, and to play online streaming radio from within Songbird. It has features like an Equalizer built in, and different media views, expanding it beyond the three of iTunes. It also has "feathers" (skins) that REALLY allow you to customize how it looks. Besides the obvious "iTunes" skins (which are in abundance), you can get a practically whatever look or feel you want. The feathers do tend to run darker, but you can usually find one to fit your wants.

Ambition.

The main thing that I love about Songbird is the ambition. It has a very clear roadmap, and has stuck to it thus far (except for version 1.3, which is apparently put on hold...) The developers know that features are lacking, and are working on them.

For example, CD ripping is a new feature in 1.4 Beta. (Many believe that it should have been in 1.0, but that's a different discussion.) Currently, it only allows you to rip into OGG, FLAC, or WMA. Now Linux people might be rejoicing (even though you can only rip on Windows...), but most people I know don't use FLAC or OGG, and if you use WMA, you should be burned at the stake. (Just Kidding!) My point is, they're currently missing the very obvious MP3 option that most users desire.

Confusion.

All of that being said about ambition, I do have to admit that I'm slightly concerned about Songbird's future in terms of features. Indeed, their roadmap does look promising, but it worries me that people want it to be more than a music player. I read a comment on the Songbird blog that said "Please make songbird able to view PDF files". My point is, because it kind of "overdoes it" with the internet browser (in my opinion), people seem to want too much from Songbird. It seems like the developers are going in the right direction, but let's hope they stay the course.

iPod.

I want to talk very briefly about iPod support. You might say "Jon! I don't have an iPod! You're totally blocking out 1 of the 5 people that actually read this blog!" Well, tough.

I want to start off by saying that Songbird does have iPod support, though it might be a little touchy at times. Really, Songbird does have most of the features when it comes to iPods. There are a few that I've found that I want to change before I switch over.

1. Rip CDs to compatible format

It's great that Songbird can rip CDs, but if it's not MP3 or AAC, that doesn't help. MP3 will definitely come in the future, but it is a necessity, in my opinion.

2. "Remember position" and "Skip when shuffling"

Unfortunately, Songbird does not have support for these yet. Hopefully, it can be something as simple as an Addon, but it needs to be there for me. Why? Well, I need "Remember position" for movies or long things like maybe audiobooks or church sermons, and I need "Skip when shuffling" for things like comedy or church sermons. Again, not a necessity, per se, but it really should be there, and I don't understand what the difficulty would be in adding it.

3. Separate sections for video/audio

Right now, Songbird does not have good support for video. In the next release (1.4?) The developers do promise a ton of stuff for video support, but that is a MUST for me. "The Dark Knight" should not come on on shuffle.

4. Good podcast support for iPod

I likes me some Ask A Ninja, and I'm not going to give that up when I change media players. Again, this is a definite plan, but I'm just stating it as something that you should be aware of.

5. Smart Playlists for iPod

Songbird does have the ability to create playlists and sync those to your iPod. It also has the ability to create "Smart" playlists, but those are unsyncable.

6. Album art

Songbird does have the ability to have album art on your computer, but cannot transfer that to your iPod. To me, this is an extra feature, and really doesn't effect how I use my iPod, but some people may find it more of an issue.

So that's my little rant on iPod support. Songbird is an amazing media player, but it doesn't make sense to use Songbird to manage my media, then use iTunes to sync my iPod (especially since I'm a "play count nazi"...) So until Songbird steps its game up (which it already is), I'm stuck with iTunes.

But I personally believe that Songbird has the most potential for being an iTunes replacement. People might say "Are you saying Songbird is better than other media players?" No, I'm just saying that when it comes to transitioning from iTunes to another media player, Songbird might be the smoothest, whereas foobar2000 or MediaMonkey might be a little harder just because it feels different.

Problems.

I've had trouble sufficiently using Songbird for an extended time just because I use iTunes, but I have noticed that Songbird tends to be a bit buggy. Do note that the developers are trying hard to remove the bugs, but just don't expect it to be perfect. I've noticed that it crashes sometimes, more than I would like. The main problem I have is that it is rather resource hungry. True, iTunes is slow as a dead raccoon, but Songbird can't really offer much more sometimes. But the developers are working to fix it, as I've said, since I've seen remarkable improvements just in a few short version jumps.

Conclusion.

Overall, Songbird is a wonderful media player. It does good dealing with a large amount of music, and very well could bring iTunes to its knees. However, it still has a ways to go. It might be a bit lacking compared to other media players, but it will get there eventually, and it's already on its way. If Songbird has enough features to make you happy, then switch over and rejoice. But if it's still lacking a few things, then wait, and watch. Bright things are ahead for Songbird.

PS - I know that's not the "official" Songbird icon, but I refuse to use the "goldfish" application icon. Long live B&W!

Visit Songbird website for download

GIMP: Move over, Photoshop

To those of us who are not rich enough to afford Photoshop, or corrupt enough to torrent it, there is GIMP. GIMP is one of the best freeware of all time. It is so amazingly huge that it's almost impossible to explain the advantages in one blog post. But I'll try.

Please know that (1) I am not a graphics designer, and (2) I've never actually tried photoshop for a serious project. That being said, there are many people who are skilled in graphics design and photo manipulation that could write a far better review that I'm about to give, and I agree with them 100%. However, I'm still going to attempt to voice my opinion from the viewpoint of someone who just wants a freeware that can manipulate photos, not one that can compete with a $$$$$$$$$ commercial product.

So on with the show! The first thing you notice about the GIMP is that it requires GTK, which means that it has that "Linux type look" on Windows (and Linux as well). Some people aren't used to that, and it might scare them away, but it is very nice if you can deal with a little GNOME-ish appearance.

Next, the GIMP can handle a ton of different filetypes. It has its own, XCF, but it can also handle pretty much any image file you can image, from Photoshop files down to a gzip archive. It has tons of different tools, many mimicking Photoshop, and you can download things like fonts, brushes, and other little gadgets to further personalize your editing skills. It has a ton of filters which are being updated with each release, and it supports layers (obviously).

There are a few things wrong with the GIMP though. First is the startup time. It takes about a minute to start on my EEE PC, even more if you have a ton of fonts and brushes and such. Also, it's actually fairly buggy, and has crashed on me several times in the middle of work. That's not to say that it crashes every time, just several times. And any computer person knows, a program crashing before you've been able to save is never a happy thing.

The last thing I have to criticize GIMP for is the lack of user friendability. (Is that a word? Well, it is now.) Out of all of the freeware programs I've come across, the GIMP scared me the most when I first opened it. I mean, before GIMP, I used MS Paint, and jumping between those two is like going straight from crawling to running a marathon. It doesn't make it any easier that the "Help" file is not included in the download. However, there is plenty of support available on the GIMP Talk forums, and even books about GIMP (which are far more interesting than you'd think, in my experience).

Right now, it might seem like GIMP is a mediocre program since I've spent about half the time talking about it's flaws. But that's not the case. GIMP is an amazing program, but it's extremely complex. It's not as easy as just saying "Well, it has a nice blur filter," because GIMP really doesn't have one use. Heck, it doesn't have an intended use, really. GIMP is the most unbounded freeware utility you will find this side of Linux. The possibilities are endless.

Not only is GIMP 95% of everything you want in a (freeware) image editor, it's also cross platform, portable, and open source.

This is probably the worst review I've done (which is saying something), but I figured that if I put out a crappy review, someone smarter than me would offer to write their own and let me post it (giving them credit, of course). The way I see different users using GIMP is like this: if you don't know that much about GIMP, then this review might help turn you on to a great utility that you can begin to learn how to use. If you do know a ton about GIMP and think this review is oversimplified, then you're smarter than me, what are you doing here expecting profound image editing advice? I am no guru.

PS - If I get so much as one comment saying how much better Photoshop is than GIMP, my head is going to explode. Look at the title of this blog. This is "FreewareWire," not "$700CommercialSoftwareWire".

Visit GIMP website for download

Hedgewars: Hogs at war!

Hedgewars is a "Worms-like game" that substitutes little pink Hedgehogs for worms. If you've never heard of the Worms video game series, it is a turn-by-turn strategy game, in which you control a team of worms that tries to blow up the other team by using deadly weapons. It may sound odd, but it is freakin fun, and freakin addicting. And Hedgewars is too.

Hedgewars is very comparable to the Worms games, in that almost every feature available for Worms is in Hedgewars. You can customize what weapons are available, make teams, make rules, make maps, and (I believe) make voices. The background music is pretty amazing in that it's actually fairly catchy, and makes blowing things up more fun. You can save games and replay them later (I'm 95% sure). Those are just a few of the notable features that make it comparable to a commercial game like Worms. The difference between Worms and Hedgewars is that Worms is a commercial game, and Hedgewars is not only free, but also open source and cross platform to boot.

In terms of in-game features, Hedgewars does not fail to impress. Available in at least v0.9.11, the "Shoppa" setting is actually built in (even though you can create your own, if you want). The weapons, hedgehogs, and characters all look good, and the physics of the game are very accurate (and always improving with each new release.) There are health bars, dropping crates and health packs, animated backgrounds, wind changes (and a wind meter). There's also even an availability to play LAN games, either locally or on the internet.

There are a few things that could stand to improve. The first is hedgehog animation. Maybe it's just because worms are so much more wiggly, but the Hedgehogs seem to stay in the same position all the time. For example, when being knocked over a distance, when flying via rope, etc, the Hedgehogs often keep the same "standing" position. Not a terrible flaw, but it would help players get into the game more. And a victory dance wouldn't hurt either.

The second is sounds. I did mention both the music and voices being great, and that is true, but Hedgewars lacks voices for several weapons, such as the rope (which is really sad...I miss the Worms twange), the baseball bat, and more.

Also, Training mode is in development (with v0.9.11), meaning there is one playable level, but it would be nice to get that up and running (since it's been down since at least v0.9.7, which was actually quite a while ago.


It may seem like I'm nitpicking, or that I don't like Hedgewars, but that is not true; it really is a good game. In terms of the physics and playability, Hedgewars is amazing; it's just that the presentation (graphics, sound) needs a little fine tuning. It has some very nice features that Worms does not have, like being able to customize the appearance of your hedgehogs (like adding a wig, a hat, etc). It has innovative new weapons, some that are comparable to Worms weapons (like the "Hellish grenade" instead of the "Holy hand grenade") and some that are completely original (like a walking exploding cake). Granted, there are not as many weapons as the Worms series (like no skunk, sheep, minigun, homing pigeon, dragon ball, flame thrower, salvation army, petrol bomb, etc.) but the weapons that it does have are fantastic, and hopefully new weapons are a part of Hedgewars' future. And that future looks like a very bright one.

Visit Hedgewars website for download

HJ-Split: Do the splits!

HJ-Split is a tiny utility to split files into multiple pieces. In the past, this was extremely useful for getting files onto floppy drives. But now people might be tempted to think that splitting files is useless, but that is not so. One primary use is e-mailing, if your attachment is too big you can split it. Or it's even useful for uber-large files, since HJ-Split can handle files "larger than 10GB!"

The first thing you notice about HJ-Split (as with any program) is the interface. To be honest, it looks like something that came out of the early 90s, but don't be scared off. You can't judge a book by its cover....or hideous gradient. (Kidding!) In all seriousness, HJ-Split is very useful because it does so much more than joining files; it also joins, compares, and calculates the checksum.

(1) Splitting is obviously HJ-Split's main feature. You can choose an input file, choose an output "array" (a string of files followed by "001", "002", etc), and then choose the split size in either KB or MB. Then you press "Start", and watch it run.

(2) HJ-Split also has a built-in Joiner as well. All you have to do is pick the first piece of the split file (like "file.001") and it will auto-find the rest, and join them.

(3) It also has a very simple Compare utility which will check if two files are equal.

(4) On top of everything else, HJ-Split also has a Checksum calculator. It can tackle even large files, and will allow you to copy the checksum straight to the keyboard with the press of a button.


The best part about HJ-Split is that it is extremely versatile. First off, it's very tiny, weighing in at 300kb for the Windows 32bit version. Secondly, it's portable, since it literally requires no other resource besides itself. Lastly, it's uber cross platform. What do I mean by "uber"? Well, of course it's available on Windows, and it's even available on Mac, and there's even a version for Linux. But HJ-Split goes way beyond that. It's got a Windows 16 bit version for older machines (like DOS), a version built for PHP for websites, a version for Amiga, and -last but not least- a version written in Java. If you don't know much about Java, Java is different because it can run on literally any computer that has a "Java Virtual Machine", which is almost every OS nowadays.

So if you're interested, check out the Java version as well. I've never been one for Java programs, but I find HJ-Split-Java incredibly interesting, and it's fun to see the exact program side by side with two entirely different feels. They are a little different though; for example, the Java version has a "Delete source file" option after you split or join a file. But they are essentially the exact same program.

Overall, it's a very useful program. If you're looking for an even easy progra for just joining, check out HJ-Split's sister program, HJ-Join, hosted at the same place: FreeByte. When it comes to RAM, the Win32 version is hard to judge, because it really depends on what you demand of the program. If you're splitting a 10GB file with 10kb pieces, it will take alot more RAM than if you split a 32kb file into two 16kb pieces.But it stays relatively low; around 7mb RAM for Checksum checking, 18mb for splitting a 60mb file. Totally worth it, if you ask me.

Visit HJ-Split (Freebyte) website for download

Dropbox: Backup + Sync = Sigh of relief

Dropbox is a free program that backs up your data, and syncronizes it across your PCs. You have to sign up for an account, but that's a good thing, trust me (and I'll explain why later on). Since the two main functions are so different, I'll explain one, then the other.

Online backup: Dropbox works by creating a "My Dropbox" folder, inside which everything is watched for changes (new files, changed files, or removed files). When a change is sensed, Dropbox will automatically upload that changed file to your account on the Dropbox website. But also, on the converse, if you go onto your account on the Dropbox website and delete a file from there, it will be deleted on your computer too. So it's a kind of "Web Syncronization", as I call it.

File Syncronization: On top of a FREE 2GB of online backup storage, Dropbox also syncronizes files between whatever computers you have Dropbox set up on for your account. (Didn't I say having an account would be a good thing?) So that means that you can have Dropbox installed on as many computers as you want, as long as they are linked to the same account. If you create a file in Computer A, Dropbox will not only upload that file to your account, but it will also download that file to Computer B. It's basically like having all your files in multiple computers, so much so that you may forget that each computer actually has a different drive.

So those are the major functions. But what makes Dropbox also nice is the web support. You can log onto your account online and view every file and folder in your My Dropbox folder. Not only that, you can also download any file in your dropbox, anywhere, on any computer, right from the web. Maybe you're at a friend's house, and you want to show them a new game (freeware game, of course) you found, but you forgot your laptop. No problem. Log onto your Dropbox account, download the game, and amaze your friend.

On top of that, you can also share folders, such that you can "invite" people to be able to view a folder, so that you can collaborate with that person. Your fellow colaborators don't even have to have Dropbox installed, or even a Dropbox account. There's also the feature of the Public Folder, which is viewable by EVERYONE who knows the URL, but I don't exactly understand the point, just because Dropbox is not exactly a filehosting site....

The web interface is also nice because you can see "Recent events", which will show you a detailed list of what files you edited, created, deleted, moved, etc. You can also even "View Deleted files", which will show files that you have deleted from your computer, which you can then restore. That's right, let me say that again in bold, just to get my point across:

Dropbox not only backs up your files, it also keeps track of your deleted files.

If that is not a reason to have relief, I really don't know what is.

The last thing I want to mention is the web feature of "Photo galleries". You can create public photo albums by making folders in a special "Photos" folder in the root directory of your "My Dropbox". Each folder becaomes its own "Album" online, which you can then give the link to your friends, who can view your album online, without even having to download the photos (even though they can, if they want.)

The web interface is wonderful, but even without it, dropbox is a great program. Being able to sync your files across computers and have them backed up online is stupendous. (You may be thinking "Yes, but you have to go on the web interface to access your files." Not so. If your computer crashes, install Dropbox on your new working machine, link it to your account, and all your files will be downloaded, web-interfaceless.)

Dropbox also has a few things I'd like to mention:

-"Binary diff": Instead of uploading the entire file every time it changes (which could be very annoying if you're editing something large), Dropbox tries to upload only the "binary difference", or the new data, making it very efficient.

-Upload/Download rate: If you feel Dropbox is stealing your bandwidth, you can set it yourself.

-Tray notifications: If files are edited on one computer, Dropbox will popup a tray icon on all other computers stating "[This File] has been updated to the newest version."

-Speeeeeedy: I had two computers sitting right next to each other, one with Dropbox, the other on the Dropbox website. I uploaded a file, and the Dropbox computer pretty much instantly started downloading the file.

-Cross platform: If Dropbox wasn't amazing enough, it's available on Windows, Mac, AND Linux. And, of course, you can have them all linked to the same account.

There are two things I have to say negatively about Dropbox, the first is having to place files in that folder for them to sync. But there is an easy workaround discussed at My Digital Life and many other places that tells how to get around that.

The second not-so-amazing thing is the resources it requires. Obviously, monitoring up to 2gigs of data is quite the hefty task, and Dropbox shows it. When it runs Idly, it uses aroun 60-70mb of RAM, which is definitely on the heavier side, for a program that runs "in the background". When it's uploading massive amounts of data (I mean gigs worth), it ran at (I believe) 110mb of RAM, consuming most of the CPU as well. So the initial setup might be a little sticky, but once you get it set up and if your comptuer can handle it, you'll love the feeling of knowing your files are safe, and able to be downloaded anywhere, anytime.

If you are thinking of making a Dropbox account, please use this link, because if you do, I get 250MB more space! Although that doesn't help FreewareWire directly, it does help it's founder, and that's a way of saying "Thankyou for showing me this great program!"

Visit Dropbox website for download

Battle for Wesnoth: Win the battle, seize the awesomeness.

The Battle for Wesnoth -also called just Wesnoth- is a turn by turn strategy game. It's set in the times of knights and ogres and orks and wizards and all that other good stuff. I'd have to say that this game is one of the top freeware games out there, because it is so large scale.

There are tons of different units and teams, like humans, elves, undead, and others, each with strengths and weaknesses. Different classes move differently on different types of ground, there are ranged attacks and close combat attacks, different classes can upgrade levels, and the time of day shifts the advantage between "lawful" and "chaotic" races. All that is just a taste of the hard work that went into this game. It is crossplatform beyond the normal three; it can run on over 10 OSes. All of the music is beautifully orchestrated (check it out), the sprites are done flawlessly, and it's all frikkin amazing. There are at least 7 stories packaged with the game varying from easy to hard, some of them 6 scenarios (a scenario is one round) to 40 (which took me like 2 weeks to beat, but it felt so good.)

In addition to the built in units, factions, maps, and campaigns, you can also download "addons," which can range anything from a modified version of the human race, to an entirely new specifies created from scratch. They have everything out there from "Mech wars", to things set in the future with spaceships and assault rifles, to demons, to fairy tales, to a Sim City-like approach at building an empire. And that's just multiplayer. You can also download campaigns, which further extends the longevity that the game offers.

The one thing I don't like about the addons is that when you browse them in-game, all it offers is the title. You can find them online at the Wesnoth website here, but you can't install them (easily) out of the game. So you have to hop in between the website and the game to read what the addons are even about, and then to download them.

The thing I perhaps like most about this game is the actual strategy it takes. You want to buy the right classes, take the right strategic offense (meaning taking villages or waiting until day/night), and be very careful about units that are close to leveling up. On the last level of the main campaign, I believe it's you against 5 or 6 enemy leaders. THAT took strategy.

Another thing I like is the extreme difference between "easy" and "hard." Easy campains are a good way to start, and hard campaigns are probably out of my league (not that I'm an amazing strategist.)

One thing I would note would be it's a little strange, the movement is in hex. So that means you have six different spaces touching yours. It takes a little while to get used to, but it's still really good.

The only -literally ONLY- bad thing I see about this is the install size. The installer itself is 137.2mb for Windows, so that oughta tip you off. The graphics might be a little heavy on an older machine, and it says on the site that the makers suggest 512mb of RAM, so I'd just say it's not a "lite" game. Still good, if you have the space.

PORTABLE?!?!? According to Portable Freeware, it is indeed portable. Download the installer, then use Universal Extractor, or download my torrent, no editing required.

Visit Wesnoth website for download

Wget: don't just get it, Wget it.

Wget is a very small download manager, so small, actually, that it only runs in command line. It's actually quite strange to use. You cannot -I repeat, cannot- just run the EXE, because it needs the URL as an argument to run. So what I would do is place the executable in the root directory (like C:\) or at least close (like C:\Downloads). Then, go to the command prompt (go to "Run", type "cmd" without quotes and hit "Ok"), type "cd C:\" or "cd C:\Downloads" depending on where you put wget.exe, and then finally type "wget URL," where URL is the URL to the file that you want, for example "http://www.website.com/monkey.exe." Remember that in the command prompt, you can right click and click "Paste" (but no Control+V) so you don't have to copy manually.

So that's the basics. Here's a few arguments that make it handy. If you want to see ALL the arguments, (a) download wget and type "wget --help", (b) visit the wget website conviniently located at the bottom off this post, or (c) visit this site, which makes it a little more clear.

-c = continue: One of the nicest features of wget is the simple ability to pick back up downloads. If you are downloading a large file and it gets interrupted, no sweat. Type in the exact same thing as when you first started downloading the file, except add "-c" before the URL, and it will continue where it left off.

-i = get URLs from file: If you have alot of URLs you want to download, paste them into a simple TXT file, one per line, then you don't even have to put it alot at a time. Just use the argument "wget -i TEXTFILE.TXT," and it will automatically get every URL in the file. Or, alternatively you can use....

-i -= prompt for multiple URLs: This is slightly different than above. Instead of typing -i then the name of a text file, type "-i -", which tells wget that you are going to paste them in now. It won't say anything, but paste in as many URLs as you want, then press Control+Z (it will show up as "^Z") and press enter, and it should start.

-r = recursive: This is the other most useful part. If you want to download everything on a page, just add a "-r" before the URL, and it'll grab everything. You can also use....

-A = accept only: If you want to download everything on a page, but only want a certain type of file, type "-A FILETYPE" like "-A mp3", and it will download only mp3s, or if you want more than one, type "-A mp3,mp4,ogg" and so on and so forth.

-nd = no directories: By default, wget will have a directory structure, just like the website. But if you want to just download the files to the one folder, type "-nd" before the URL.


That's some of the options, but there are alot more to do with proxies, passwords, and other utilities.

So in summary, there's a few reason wget is nice:

-Tiny: 400kb file, that's all you need.

-Portable: Because it's 400kb.

-OpenSource: For those who care.

-Downloads all on page: Using the "-r" argument. Can be further helped with limiting.

-Continues downloads: If they're interrupted.

The only downside to this program is that it has no GUI(Graphical User interface, for you non-techies...this means it's just white text on black background). However, people have made GUI to make it a little easier. Like Jacks WGET GUI, Wget:gui, Kiwi Wget GUI, or what personally looks the best to me, WinWGet, because it looks like it has Firefox integration, and almost all of the arguments in forms of checkboxes. And there are probably tons more. Just google "wget gui,"

For more info on wget, check out Jimmy Ruska's video on Youtube. He's the man. Here is wget's native website.

Visit Wget website for download

Audacity: The bravest audio editor around.

It's a sad life, living off Window's Sound Recorder. Enter Audacity. Audacity is an open source, cross platform audio editor.

It's hard to capture this program in one blog post, but let me just say: it's terrific. If you want to cut a track for ringtones, Audacity can do it. If you want to cut the first 5 seconds out of that song for your iPod, Audacity can do it. You can generate tones, silence, static, and a ton of other things. It has a ton of effects:

• Amplify: Either increase or decrease the sound of a song. Allows you to check a "Allow Clipping" box if you don't want any distortion at all.
• Normalize: Amplifies (positively) all of the tracks, but does not allow clipping.
• Delay: A more advanced Echo. Check the description in the program (or ask in a comment) if you want to know more.
  
• Echo: Very simple Echo.
• Compressor: basic compressor
  
• Leveler: I haven't a clue.
• Auto duck: No clue.
• Bass Boost: Boosts the bass!
• Low pass filter: Complicated...I dunno
• Equalization: EQ the track.
• High pass filter: See Low pass filter.
• Phaser: Dunno.
• Tremelo: Wha?
• Wah Wah: Creates something like a wah wah pedal on a guitar...
• Change Pitch: Changes only the sound. Like taking in helium.
  
• Change Speed: Changes both Pitch and Tempo. Like playing a record player very fast.
  
• Change Tempo: Changes only the tempo. As in, witha metronome, upping the beats per minute. This means the sound is the same pitch.
  
• Vocoder: Codes the vo? I dunno.
• Cross Fade In/Fade Out: ???
  
• Click Removal: ???
  
• Clip Fix: ???
  
• Noise Removal: ???
  
• Repair: ???
  
• Fade In/Fade out: Very nicely fades in or out your selection.
• Invert: ???
• Normalize: ???
• Vocal Remover:

And even more. As you can see, I am not the most audio knowledgable person on the earth. HOWEVER, maybe you are! If you have a good, simple explanation (or correction) to any of the effects above, send an e-mail to freewarewire@gmail.com, and I'll totally give you credit!

Anyway, I feel really stupid not knowing many of those things. But there's even more good things about it:

• Project saving: If you want to save something, channels and all, you can save it as an AUP file, so you can open it back up and edit it, just as you left it. KEEP IN MIND, Audacity projects are HUGE compared to even a WAV of that project. In addition to the project file (example: project.aup), there is a folder created that contains the project files (example project_files).
  
• Metadata editing: Yes, you can open a file, edit the metadata, and export it again.
• MIDI viewer: You can do "File>Import>MIDI."
• Export/Export selection: This is key. In Audacity, "Save" is for Audacity projects. "Export" is for exporting to an mp3, a WAV, and....
• FFMPEG support: Finally! This is only in the latest Beta, but Audacity can finally import and export m4as, and other things that use FFMPEG. Just download a library, just like LAME MP3. Visit this site for more info.
  
• Portable: Heck. Yes. PortableApps has made a portable version. Edit audio on the way.
  

A few bad things.

• No MIDI editor: You can open and view them, but no editor.

That's all for now. Again, this program is very vast, and if you have anything you'd like to ammend to this post, send it in an e-mail (NOT in the comments, unless it's like 1 or 2 sentences) and I will give you credit.

Visit Audacity website for Download

7-zip: Zip it up, 7z style!

7-zip is a compression tool that is rather unique. 7-zip actually introduces its own compression format, 7z. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Here's the reasons I love 7-zip:

-7z format: Ok, now I can talk about this. 7z is actually a brand spanking new format and is highly compressible. I find that 7z files can be 25% to 50% smaller than the exact same files in a zip archive. However, because this format is not known by everyone (but it is becoming more and more common), you can't exactly use 7z files if you're going to put it up for other people to download. Nevertheless, if you are using it for your own personal use, then 7z is the way to go.

-Better compression all around: Yes, 7-zip has better compression all around for numerous formats. According to the developer site, "For ZIP and GZIP formats, 7-Zip provides a compression ratio that is 2-10 % better than the ratio provided by PKZip and WinZip."

-Self extracting 7z (SFX): This is pretty cool. What if you want to send a file to someone that is not good with compression software? Easier: create a self-extracting archive. Even better, it's 7z format, so it is a highly compression self-extracting archive! And it's easy to do; all you do is click "SFX" in the "Create Archive" dialouge.

-Windows shell: Adds an entire category to your context menu. That way you don't have to do "Open with" and hunt for 7-zip. You can open an archive, extract the files to any folder, quickly extract the files to the folder you're in, or add to archive (either an existing, or new).

-File manager: I don't use nearly as often as I should, but it's still a very nice file manager. You can add, extract, test, copy, move, delete, and more right inside the manager. You can split and merge, calculate the checksum, add a comment, and much more from the right click. There are 4 different views, just like in explorer, and there's even 10 favorites that you can add.

-Command line: Everything I mentioned above you can do command line-style. I suggest copying 7z.exe to the system32 folder, then you can just type "7z" in the command prompt, and vwa la. To figure out all of the commands for command line, just run the 7z.exe from the command prompt. Here's the output, in case you want to know:

Usage: 7z [...] [...]
[<@listfiles...>]


a: Add files to archive
d: Delete files from archive
e: Extract files from archive (without using directory names)
l: List contents of archive
t: Test integrity of archive
u: Update files to archive
x: eXtract files with full paths

-ai[r[-|0]]{@listfile|!wildcard}: Include archives
-ax[r[-|0]]{@listfile|!wildcard}: eXclude archives
-bd: Disable percentage indicator
-i[r[-|0]]{@listfile|!wildcard}: Include filenames
-m{Parameters}: set compression Method
-o{Directory}: set Output directory
-p{Password}: set Password
-r[-|0]: Recurse subdirectories
-scs{UTF-8 | WIN | DOS}: set charset for list files
-sfx[{name}]: Create SFX archive
-si[{name}]: read data from stdin
-slt: show technical information for l (List) command
-so: write data to stdout
-t{Type}: Set type of archive
-v{Size}[b|k|m|g]: Create volumes
-u[-][p#][q#][r#][x#][y#][z#][!newArchiveName]: Update options
-w[{path}]: assign Work directory. Empty path means a temporary directory
-x[r[-|0]]]{@listfile|!wildcard}: eXclude filenames
-y: assume Yes on all queries

It's a little complicated, but if you are in to command line, use it well.

-Size: The entire install is under 3mb. What's not to like about that?

-Cross Platform: For what it's worth, 7-zip is also available on Linux.

-Portable: How could an app this great not be portable? The good people at PortableApps certainly thought so.

Visit 7-zip website for Download

Pidgin: delivering your messages, purple style.

Ok, seriously, over the years, I've met alot of people online and in person, and alot of times, they use different IM services, but I want to talk to them. So I have two choices: run AIM, YIM, Windows Live, Gtalk, etc, or use Pidgin. Hmm....

Some features:

-Support for clients:

• AIM
• Bonjour
• Gadu-Gadu
• Gtalk
• Groupwise
• ICQ
• IRC
• MSN
• MySpaceIM
• QQ
• SILC
• SIMPLE
• Sametime
• XMPP
• YIM
• Zephyr
• Lesser known Facebook chat, Skype, and others.
  

I don't even know what the heck some of those are! That's a ton!

-Plugins: they're all over the place. Alot come with the install, and you can get others, such as the

• Plugin Pack - Just a ton of fun plugins.
  
• Guifications - Pops up whenever you want, like when a buddy goes away, comes back, etc. Customizable, and skinable!
• Music Tracker - Make your now playing your status! Support for a variety of players such as Amarok, iTunes, and even Songbird (with a little tweaking...or should I say "tweating"...)
• Physic Mode - Comes with Pidgin, but I just have to say, I love it. I like being in the know of when someone is talking to me, and this plugin actually pops up a window when someone starts typing to you, before they even send the message! Most of my friends don't know that I'm eagerly waiting for their message, knowing they're typing before they even send it. Or you can message them with something like "You were just about to message me, weren't you?" and totally freak them out.

Unfortunately, the plugins are spaced out all over the internet, and are not collected neatly like Firefox's addons. But if you find know what you're looking for, they're pretty easy to find, and totally worth it.

-Status saves: statuses are important for me. Pidgin lets me save and manage saved statuses! You can select "Available" and then type a message, or leave it empty. When you click the status button, it shows the 6 (or so) most recent statuses, saved or not. By "saving" a status, it saves to a file, and shows up when you click "Saved Statuses." When "using" a status, it stays in your recent statuses for a while, but then disappears. But I mean, I love song lyrics for most of my statuses. So rather than having to enter in the same lyrics over and over again, I save them all. I'd say I have about 30 or more statuses saved up, and that's awesome.

-Smileys: That's right! Download smileys and use them, or make smileys and use them! That means if you like Yahoo smileys, use them! If you like Gtalk smileys, use them! And you can easily switch between them.

-Logging in HTML: First off, Pidgin has the functionality to log chats automatically, and group chats, and even status changes. But the really nice thing is that it has the option to log as HTML. No offense, YIM, but I like my logs to not be plain text files. But if HTML are using too much space, Pidgin gives you the option to save as txt also. But I like to save conversations and go back and look at them, or if my comp crashes or pidgin crashes (it's not perfect), I can go back to the log and see what we were talking about. Lovely.


Downsides:

-No webcam support: And apparently none for a while. According to ticket #34 on the Pidgin website, webcam and voice support "WILL happen eventually, but it is a rather large undertaking and very few core developers are interested in working on it."Still, until then, it's pretty annoying...

-Not very skinnable: Pidgin can only be "themed," and not skinned. Pidgin developers explain this better than I could or even understand, so you can check their site to find out more. It can be skinned by the GTK Theme Control, but that honestly really screwed up my display a ton. However, you can download GTK Themes (which is different), and help it look a little more homely, but it still isn't as skinnable as some would like. And I think, but not sure, that if you adjust GTK skin for Pidgin, it could effect other apps that use it such as GIMP and others...

-Avatars failing: This really ticks me off. When I select an avatar, it doesn't always show up, and even when it does, and it appears in the box, and even next to your name (I add myself so I can see my status....and so it looks like I have friends...), but other people say "Why is your avatar blank?" or "Why is it that picture from 2 months ago?" It's frustrating to say the least. But apparently, it's off and on because it works sometimes and doesn't others, and it doesn't for some people and does for others. The most annoying thing is that you never know when it happens. Frustrating.

-Messy lists: It seems to mess up my buddy lists. I used to have it really messy, but then I spent like 2 hours cleaning it up, confining it and deleting duplicates and old buddy accounts, and then when I signed on a different computer (even after I copied blist.xml, the buddy list file), it apparently downloaded it from the server or something, and messed it up. So it might not be the best for multiple computers if you are really picky with buddy lists.

AND OH
It's Portable. Most excellent.

Overall, though, it's very enjoyable. I love having all my buddies on one list from all over the web. Is Pidgin perfect? No. Does it do everything I want an IM client to do? No, but pretty close. Pidgin is good because it's pretty lightweight, pretty reliable, and just good. It's good for if you want, like I said, multiple types of IM in one window and one program. If you only have one IM, you might consider going with that original client.

Visit Pidgin website for Download

Firefox: revolutionizing the web, world wide.

I'm hoping that this is just a formality, and everyone knows what Firefox is. If you don't, Firefox is the most used internet browser in the world (44% in October 2008). What makes Firefox so great?

Safety.
Firefox has alot of safety features that enhance its experience. It has a warning whenever you enter a site that may be dangerous, and overall it is just alot more secure than some other browsers (such as Internet Explorer).
Customizability.
Whether that is a word or not, Firefox has it. You can essentially make Firefox look like anything you want with the option of themes, and you can even add further features with the use of addons. What is an addon? The better question is: What isn't an addon? Addons can range from checking e-mail in your tray, to downloading videos, to having Facebook right in your toolbar! In short, addons are what make Firefox.....Firefox, really. Because it's so customizable, barely any two people's Firefoxes look the same.
Speed.
Firefox does not boast the fastest speed, but it is moderately good. For the most part, it does not freeze up, even when loading up to ten tabs. It's a good middle ground.

Of course, no freeware is perfect.

Startup time.
Firefox, well, it takes a while. There's even a program called "Firefox Preloader" that supposedly loads some of Firefox into the memory so it starts faster. However, the fact remains, and it's quite bothersome. The more addons, the longer it takes to load, so it can take a while. Fortunately, though, it seems to be only for the first start, then even after you close Firefox, it will start up a little more quickly the next time. If you're like me, and once you start up browsing, you leave it open, this little nuisance is fairly easy to ignore. But if you're looking for wicked fast startup every time, Firefox is not for you.
Memory usage.
Yes, it's true. Firefox blows the competition out of the water when it comes to memory usage. On average, Firefox uses over 100mb of RAM for me (but that is with multiple addons.) At the moment, I have four tabs open, and my memory usage is at 180mb, and it's peaked in this session at 222mb. Overall, it's not too great to run Firefox on machines with low memory.

Portable.
Also, Firefox is portable! If you are an avid Firefox user, this is good news for you. This means that you never, ever have to use Internet Explorer again whenever you go to college, or a friend's house, or wherever. Head on over to PortableApps to give it a download.



So to put in simply, get Firefox if you want a customizable browser, if you don't mind waiting the first time for it to load, and if you have some RAM to spare.

For a real comparison of browsers, check out Lifehacker.

Visit Firefox (Mozilla) Website for Download