Commercial Software with a free version
MIT / Sloan School of Management
Lessons i've learnt, David Maister
Killer Innovations, Phil McKinney
Manager Tools, Mark Horstman & Mike Auzenne
The Project Management Podcast
B-Eye Network (Business Intelligence)
Academie voor Coaching en Councelling
SECURE YOUR FILES: TrueCrypt
Put this on your laptop or thumbdrive to secure your data. We have all heard the stories about people forgetting their laptop or having it stolen. Especially if your laptop contains lots of sensitive data (e.g. SSN records) you should be doing this. The IT department can extract a header with a standard password, then allow you to set your own password. If you ever forget your password, the IT employees can then use their header to unlock your data again. This can be compared with having 2 keys to unlock the data. If you even loose your key, the other key (at the IT department) can then be used.
COMPLETE OFFICE SUITE: OpenOffice
When you need to write letters, use a spreadsheet or create a presentation, use this stunning free suite of office applications. You can open and save in the standard Microsoft word or excel formats. Since I often write automation tools in VBA for clients, I only use OpenOffice privately.
SIMPLE MINDMAPPING: FreeMind
MindMapping, developed by Tony Buzan, is a way to structure your thought processes in a very easy way. Just try this.
SECURE AND PORTABLE LOGIN AND PASSWORD MANAGEMENT: KeePass
KeePass saves all my personal data. I don't like the integrated password managers built-in in many web browsers. I just don't trust those, but I do trust KeePass.
MY TRUSTED WEB BROWSER: FireFox
have used FireFox since 2004 and I love it. There are many useful add-ons like NoScript, FireFTP, IE View, SiteAdvisor, PDF Download, Skype, Split Browser, etc.
PHOTO EDITOR, ALMOST AS GOOD AS PHOTOSHOP: GIMP
This is a very nice photo editor. The menu is not as simple as PhotoShop but there is a PhotoShop menu add-on.
PHOTO VIEWER WITH BATCH SCANNING CAPABILITY: IrfanView
This is a very nice photo editor/viewer. The reason that I use this a lot is that it allows you to use any scanner and use the scanner in batch mode. This allows me to define a standard name with an automatically increasing number and all scanned documents will be stored automatically. Just push the scan button, the rest is done automatically.
EMAIL PROGRAM, ALTERNATIVE TO MS OUTLOOK: Thunderbird
Thunderbird is my trusted email client. It can connect to any POP/SMTP server. There is also a small server that allows you to use (the old style, not the new) Yahoo webmail system as a POP server. This way you can use the free Yahoo web mail and still use Thunderbird to see all your email in one program.
STRUCTURED NOTE TAKING: KeyNote
Save notes in a structured way. Inside KeyNote you can structure your notes in a way that is familiar to the windows directory structure.
REALLY WIPE YOUR HARD DISK CLEAN: Darik's Boot and Nuke
Before you discard your old PC, make sure there is no data left on your hard drive. Just deleting the files doesn't work, even emptying the waste basket will not help. The files are still on your hard disk. The only way to remove the files is to make sure ALL the data is over-written with random noise. That is what DBAN does. Be CAREFUL if you use this on your current PC ALL your data will be GONE FOREVER! Not even the FBI can help you to restore your data.
READ RSS FEEDS: RSS Reader
I do not know if this is the best RSS reader. I've used it a long time and once I am used to programs, I'll stick with them for a long time.
WEB EDITOR: NVU
I used NVU to create this website. I know it is static, but I do not blog (yet), so why build a website with a (opensource MySQL) database behind it. NVU does not handle frames so I created the frames with HomeSite v1.2 and then created the header, menu, footer and content in NVU. One thing that NVU does not do easily is to move pictures around in a true WYSIWYG style. You can encapsulate the pictures in a DIV frame first, then you can move the pictures freely.
VECTOR GRAPHICS DESIGNING: InkScape
Just great, I used it to create the logo.
(TEMPORARILY) CHANGE THE WAY YOUR KEYBOARD KEYS BEHAVE: AutoHotKey
I use it to turn the [000] key on my numeric keypad into a [:], so that entering time in my timesheets goes quicker. Remap your keyboard.
AUTOMATICALLY DOWNLOAD PODCASTS: iPodder Lemon
Download Podcasts (internet radio / topic discussions)
automatically. I
have iPodder configured to save all files in one single directory.
After each
download, I run
mp3gain
in batch mode to make sure
that all files are roughly at the same volume level.
AUDIO RECORDER / EDITOR: Audacity
Just a great audio editor. Used it since 2004.
PERMANENTLY WIPE SOME FILES FROM YOUR HARD DRIVE: Eraser
You can decide to really wipe the "empty" part of your hard disk. This way all the existing files remain intact and the empty part is wiped clean, just like "Boot and Nuke", but now selectively. Your context menu (right mouse button) also allows you to wipe a file instead of just deleting it.
SCREEN RECORDER: Camstudio
These two (Camstudio and Wink) screen recorders allow you to record what is on your PC screen. This way you can e.g. record a training session.
SCREEN RECORDER: Wink
These two (Camstudio and Wink) screen recorders allow you to record what is on your PC screen. This way you can e.g. record a training session.
ZIP AND UNZIP FILES: 7-Zip
Compress/uncompress files.
SECURE REMOTE DESKTOP: Crossloop
CrossLoop will give you the possibility to either show your PC screen to someone else or to see someone the PC screen of someone else. You can use this for remote user support or remote Powerpoint presentations. It is based on the trusted VNC with a central server to enable NAT/Firewall traversal.
SECURE VPN: Hamachi
The free Hamachi client allows you to create (and or join) a private network over the internet. This can be used to e.g. securely access a server at work or at home even when you are on the road. The beauty of this configuration is that it has dynamic NAT/firewall traversal, making it easy to configure.
TELEPHONY OVER THE INTERNET:
Skype
The free Skype client allows you to speak with any other Skype user in the world for free. You can also call people who only have a normal telephone, but that is a paid service (Skype out).
SAVE SCREENSHOTS FROM YOUR PC SCREEN:
Gadwin
Save anything you see on your screen in multiple formats and sizes.
SAVE / PRINT ANYTHING AS A PDF:
CutePDF
With CutePDF, you can turn any printable document into a PDF.
QUICKLY CHANGE YOUR NETWORK SETTINGS:
NetSetMan
Quickly change your network settings back and forth.
Sourceforge OpenSource: Sourceforge.net
WinAddOns.com: WinAddOns.com
vbMark: vbMark.com
The Best 46 Free Utilities (now more than 100 and growing...): Techsupportalert.com
Coach Approach,
Katja le Clercq
Vergouwen
Overduin, Boudewijn Overduin
(In 2005 I started writing a book
"The Training Trap", until in 2006, I met Boudewijn Overduin who
had already written a similar book called "Liever (g)een training")