Free Software

Below are listed my favorite free software programs. Many of these are used in the lab at school, and all of them are good programs. Since our school uses Microsoft Windows, most of the software is for Windows, though some is available for multiple platforms, or is a web-based application. The links should take you to the official download and information page for each program.

Blender 3d

Blender is an incredibly powerful graphics program for 3d imaging and animation. It was recently released as OpenSource and is available for download at the main page (you have to hunt a little for "Blender Publisher"). It might be easier to download it from a "fan site", www.blenderwars.com, for now. If you are not familiar with using 3D software, you'll probably need to look over some tutorials to help you get started.

Dia

A program for creating flow charts and diagrams. Really cool.

The GIMP

A professional graphics design program comparable to Adobe Photoshop. A very powerful program. Be sure to download the patches.

HTML-Kit

In my opinion, the best web page programming environment available. Helps the programmer enter code, edit code, and check the code for errors. Includes so many options, like spell check, PHP menus, CSS menus, color code picking, built-in FTP utility, code preview screen, Tidy code checker utility, syntax colorization, and tons more. If you create web pages by writing your own code (instead of WYSIWYG), this is the best tool around. Note: HTML-Kit is moving from free software to a commercial version. The "beta" releases are still available for free, though, and are what I have been using for the past few years.

Klik and Play

A great game creation program that allows you to make up your own computer games without having to learn a programming language. Klik and Play is free for school-related use. There are other similar programs that look very interesting, such as Mark Overmars Game Maker. Game creation is a great introduction to programming for kids.

Python

Software for programming in Python.

Python Games

Free games created using the Python programming language. Games work on most every platform and include source code.

Drawing for Children

A wonderful paint / drawing program that includes not only only a variety of paintbrush styles, but also an array of stickers and special effects.

Riverdeep Software

A collection of demos from Riverdeep Software. Includes an awesome Virtual Electronics Lab that lets you place batteries, resistors, capacitors, and other stuff into circuites on a virtual breadboard. Also has other downloads, but the Electronics Lab is one of the best educational freebies around.

Flix Animated Beginning Typing

A typing program designed for younger children. Technically this is shareware, which means if you like it please send the author the requested fee, but the shareware version is really good.

Roxie's ABC Fish

Two preschool games in one. First, practice the alphabet letters by playing "Go-Fish" with a cat. Then, when the hand is over, create music by placing notes on the staff in the "Grumpy Music" center. Great little game.

Tangram

A tangram puzzle game. Use the shapes provided to make the figure. Also allows you to create your own tangram puzzles.

Typing Master Tests / Games

A little program for testing your typing speed, also includes some good typing games for "warm up" practice.

Arasan Chess

I'm not much into chess, but apparently what makes a chess game really good is not so much the graphics as the chess engine (how "smart" the computer opponent is). Arasan chess seems to have a very good chess engine.

Click-o-Mania

That addictive little "click and make the blocks go away" game. The link will take you to the web site, which has some extra plug-ins as well as a version for use on Macs.

Darts

A really great darts game put out free by some beer company in Europe. Great graphics and game play.

Deluxe Snake

A great "snake race" or "nibbles" game. Your snake eats pellets, gets longer, and you have to survive. Includes lots of neat extras.

Gubble

A neat little maze action game where you have to unscrew all the screws on a level, or pop out all the nails, without getting hit by the mean guys.

HappyLand

A nice little action game where you have to run, jump, collect jewels, save twibbles, and beware of trouble.

JJ Soft Games

Site with a number of free games including:
• Bomber -- Classic "Battleship" game. Find the hidden ships by dropping bombs.
• Paddlers -- A multi-player break-out style game.
• Painters -- Four players each compete to cover the board with their own color.
• Troy -- The dragon who has to collect gold.

PC-Bert

A very authentic PC clone of the classic QBert arcade game.

Pool

Great pool game with fantastic graphics and game play.

SkyRoads

Everybody's favorite 3D flying car game. Drive your vehicle down the space roadway without falling off, running out of fuel, or blowing up. This is one of the favorites at school, and is often referred to as our "driver's ed" program.

Tux Racer

A 3-D game where you guide a penguin down a mountain and try to eat as many herrings as possible. The graphics and game play are great, especially when you can get the penguin to fly. Setup can be a bit tricky sometimes, so check the README files if it doesn't run right the first time.

Open Office

A complete Office suite available free. Includes a word processor, spreadsheet, and a lot more. Compatible with Microsoft Office.

AVG Anti-Virus

Free anti-virus software from Grisoft.

FTP Client by Ipswitch

This is a really nice FTP client for Windows. It is free for educational use. To download, right click the file and select "Save Link Document" or whatever similar choice you have.

PDF Creators

I've been hunting for a good free program that will allow you to create PDF files (basically a replacement for the Acrobat PDF Distiller). Best I've found so far is using GhostScript, GhostView and a PostScript printer. It takes a couple extra steps, but works very well. There's also a program called RedMon that will automatically redirect print jobs sent to a designated PostScript printer to Ghostscript, where it will then convert and save the file as a PDF. See notes on how to do this at this site.

VNC

VNC stands for "Virtual Network Computing". This little program allows you to view and control one computer on a network (or over the Internet) while sitting at a different computer (provided both computers have the software installed). I have this program on all the computers at school so I can troubleshoot, update, and occasionally spy without ever leaving my desk. (The original VNC was developed and distributed from this site: http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/.)

Zone Alarm

ZoneAlarm is very easy to use firewall software. If you have Internet access, it is good to have something like this installed. I'm amazed at how many hits my little computer gets each day while I'm just surfing and checking mail. ZoneAlarm has a free version for personal use.

WE-Blocker

Free Internet filtering software. Can customize the software for types of content blocked (pornography, violence, gambling, etc.), add or remove sites from the blocked list, and set multiple user profiles. Nice, free little tool for those interested in web filtering.

7-Zip

A free, open source zip/unzip utility.