32 Free Windows Software Alternatives

Calculator

• Microsoft offers a free, more robust alternative to its built in Calculator. It can be found at: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/Downloads/powertoys/Xppowertoys.mspx

Command Prompt

• CygWin - Is a Linux Shell emulator for windows. This allows you to work with the more powerful command line functions of Linux. http://cygwin.com/

Built In Unzipping Utility

• TuGZip - A multi-format zipping utility that can create self extracting archives. This can be found at http://tugzip.com/.
• 7-Zip - A program I frequently use, parked at http://7-zip.org/ it is a very useful, user-friendly program with a wide variety of formats.

Windows Media Player

• Foobar2000 - Only used for audio, it supports a wide range of formats without needing more plug-ins. This program uses very little memory and is very customizable. Available at: http://foobar2000.org/
• iTunes - Apples media player works very well with iTunes but does not get a strong recommendation because it bundles DRM with songs. Available at: http://apple.com/itunes/download/
• Songbird - Although in the alpha stage, this program does integrate will with musical websites. It also supports syncing to other devices. Available at: http://getsongbird.com/
• VLC Media Player - This program plays almost any type of media format, but as of yet does not have a library feature. Check back soon as I am sure this functionality will be built in soon. Available at: http://videolan.org/
• Miro - Is a program that features RSS downloading, BitTorrent, and YouTube or other video sharing website support. It only works with Video formats. Available at: http://www.getmiro.com/

Paint

• GIMP - An odd sounding program none the less, is becoming quite the rage with similar functionality as Adobe Photoshop - and at a much better price - Free. Available at: http://gimp.org/
• Paint.NET - Is another alternative, not quite as advanced as GIMP, this program will provide many features including support for layers and unlimited undo.

Windows Search

• Google's Desktop Search - Will allow you to search your computer and the Internet history in an interface similar to Google's Web Search. It also provides a sidebar and quick launch utility. Available at: http://desktop.google.com/
• Copernic Desktop Search - This utility has a very intuitive GUI for searching and claims to be light on resources. Available at: http://www.copernic.com/en/products/desktop-search/index.html

Add/Remove Programs

• Revo Uninstaller - Is a power program that removes all traces of a program when uninstalling it. Available at: http://www.revouninstaller.com/

Disk Cleanup

• Ccleaner - Scours your system for unneeded files and removes them. Also comes with a registry cleaner, startup manager, and a nominal Add/Remove Programs function. Available at: http://ccleaner.com/

Remote Desktop

• TightVNC - Is a program that sets up a server on the computer you want to control along with client software controlling the computer. This program offers a number of features over the standard Windows Remote Desktop. Available at: http://www.tightvnc.com/
• UltraVNC - Is similar to TightVNC, with support for a Java viewer, text chat and encryption algorithms. Available at: http://uvnc.com/
• TeamViewer - Is a program that offers a fast setup with support for both the Windows and Mac operating system. Has built in file transfer protocol with no need to change any firewall settings. Available at: http://www.teamviewer.com/index.aspx

Windows Photo Gallery / Windows Picture and Fax Viewer

• Windows Live Photo Gallery - A Microsoft program which is an enhanced version of the free Photo Gallery. This is available as part of the Windows Live Suite. It provides additional library tools as well. Available at: http://windowslive.com/Explore/PhotoGallery
• IrfanView - A much lighter image viewer with a wider range of features including image manipulation and conversion. Available at: http://www.irfanview.com/
• XnView - Also a lighter image viewer program with a wide variety of features. You can manipulate, convert and met-data edit multiple formats of pictures with this programs features. Available at: http://pagesperso-orange.fr/pierre.g/xnview/enxnview.html

Windows Movie Maker

• Jahshaka - Is a program which offers much more functionality that Windows Movie Maker. An open source program that supports a wide variety of formats. Available at: http://jahshaka.org/
• LiVES - Can only be used from a boot Live CD-ROM. Has a much better feature set than Windows Movie Maker. Available at: http://lives.sourceforge.net/

Windows Explorer

• Xplorer2 - A much more robust program offering much more than the standard Windows Explorer, such as tabbed browsing. Available at: http://www.zabkat.com/
• Free Commander - Also offers tabbed browsing, dual panes, file wiping and MD5 checksum abilities. Available at: http://www.freecommander.com/

Windows Update

• AutoPatcher - Will allow you to download the necessary update files and apply them when you are off line. Available at: http://www.autopatcher.com/
• Project Dakota - Allows you to download the update files to an ISO image and install it from the disk. Available at: http://www.dakota.theatticnetwork.net/
• MakeUseOf - Is another provider of different ways to get your Windows O.S. properly updated. Available at: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-ways-to-update-your-windows-operating-system/

Windows Shell

• Blackbox for Windows - A highly customizable light shell alternative replacement for windows. It is based on the Blackbox Window Manager program. Available at: http://bb4win.sourceforge.net/

Windows Sidebar

• Google Desktop Sidebar - Comes as a feature with Google's Desktop Package. Available at: http://desktop.google.com/
• Yahoo! Widgets - Get it now before it becomes MSN! Widgets - Not quite a sidebar, this program from Yahoo will allow you to place widgets onto your desktop for easy access. Comes with a widget dock where you can easily view you widgets at a glance. Available at: http://widgets.yahoo.com/
• Klipfolio - Is a program that allows you to place "Klips" on your desktop. This will allow you to put in a lot of web information while taking up less space than the standard widgets/gadgets. Available at: http://klipfolio.com/

Web Resources:

Calculator: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/Downloads/powertoys/Xppowertoys.mspx

CygWin: http://cygwin.com/

TuGZip: http://tugzip.com/

7-Zip: http://7-zip.org/

Foobar2000: http://foobar2000.org/

iTunes: http://apple.com/itunes/download/

Songbird: http://getsongbird.com/

VLC Media Player: http://videolan.org/

Miro: http://www.getmiro.com/

GIMP: http://gimp.org/

Paint.NET: http://www.paint.net/

Google's Desktop Search: http://desktop.google.com/

Copernic Desktop Search: http://www.copernic.com/en/products/desktop-search/index.html

Revo Uninstaller: http://www.revouninstaller.com/

Ccleaner: http://ccleaner.com/

TightVNC: http://www.tightvnc.com/

UltraVNC: http://uvnc.com/

TeamViewer: http://www.teamviewer.com/index.aspx

Windows Live Photo Gallery: http://windowslive.com/Explore/PhotoGallery

IrfanView: http://www.irfanview.com/

XnView: http://pagesperso-orange.fr/pierre.g/xnview/enxnview.html

Jahshak: http://jahshaka.org/

LiVES: http://lives.sourceforge.net/

Xplorer2: http://www.zabkat.com/

Free Commander: http://www.freecommander.com/

AutoPatcher: http://www.autopatcher.com/

Project Dakota: http://www.dakota.theatticnetwork.net/

MakeUseOf: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-ways-to-update-your-windows-operating-system/

Blackbox for Windows: http://bb4win.sourceforge.net/

Google Desktop Sidebar: http://desktop.google.com/

Yahoo! Widgets: http://widgets.yahoo.com/

Klipfolio: http://klipfolio.com/