Articles about Free Software

There’s an argument against whether your modern PC requires additional optimization. Windows 10 offers basic but essential tools to keep your system running smoothly and it’s less likely you’ll run out of drive space or require a system purge to make room for a new install.

With the above in mind, system maintenance developers are coming up with new ways of making their tools essential in the modern world. Security remains a constant threat, so adding modules to keep your system safe seems to be the recent priority.

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Renowned open-source eBook management tool Calibre 4.2 has been released. The cross-platform app, also available in 32-bit form, makes it easy to organize, manage, view, convert and even edit eBooks.

Version 4.2 comes a fortnight after version 4.0 was released. This update promises improvements to macOS dark mode support and the Viewer application, including the generation of covers and table of contents.

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IObit has released Driver Booster 7.0.2, a major new release of its free and paid-for driver updater tool for Windows PCs.

Highlights of this new release include support for over 3,500,000 drivers, twice the scanning speed of previous versions, a silent mode feature and an enhanced toolbox that promises fixes for a wider range of driver-related issues such as sound, networking and low-resolution problems.

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Sandboxie -- the sandboxing tool with the tagline "Trust no program" -- has been made into a free utility. But more than this, Sophos also plans to make the software open source in the near future.

The company says that it was a difficult decision to make, pointing out that Sandboxie has never been a significant component of its business. While simply shutting down the app would have been the easiest and cheapest thing to do, Sophos says: "we love the technology too much to see it fade away".

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Mozilla has released Thunderbird 68.0 for Windows, Mac and Linux. Also released in portable and -- for the first time -- 64-bit form for Windows users, Thunderbird is Mozilla’s free and open-source email client.

Version 68 unveils improvements to its App Menu, incorporates the options dialog into the main program window and offers improved attachment-handling features.

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Although we handle support for novice software customers, there’s one area that often leaves us perplexed. Why does software manage to leave so much data on your computer after you run the official uninstaller?

It should be straightforward, right? You install software, uninstall and the entire process should remove the components, registry entries, startup modules and upgrade flashes. But often they fail. We still get warnings about software being out-of-date that we uninstalled months ago and even a tool from a well-known brand offering us an upgrade. Try and locate the source of these issues and they are often hidden deep in your registry or other hard to find locations.

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Geek Software GMBH has released pdf24 Creator 9.0, a major new version of its freeware suite of tools designed to create and manipulate PDF files. Features include the ability to merge, split and extract individual pages from PDF files, plus create secure documents.

The program adds several new features, including a zip-like merge tool for PDF documents as well as the ability to quickly reverse a document’s page order. Users also gain a handful of additional options as well as a selection of minor improvements

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Google has released Google Web Designer 6.0, a major new version of its HTML-5 contenting-producing tool for Windows, Mac and Linux. Its WYSIWYG user interface and other user-friendly tools like syntax highlighting and code autocompletion make it popular among advertisers.

Version 6.0 introduces improvements to its Code view and Events panel layout, supports focal points for responsive images and introduces interactive video features.

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UK-based SiSoftware has released SiSoftware Sandra Lite 20/20 (2020), a major new release of its system information, diagnostics and benchmark tool for Windows PCs.

The 2020 version adds two new Neural Network benchmarks covering AI and machine learning, plus extends support to the latest CPU architectures, including AMD Ryzen 2 (3000 series) and Intel IceLake and CometLake.

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There’s a do you/don’t you approach to system maintenance software. Some users swear by the tools, running in the background keeping their system in-check. Others complain of system errors and unnecessary Registry cleansing which can do more harm than good.

The secret is, control. Switch off all automated processing and simply choose the tools you want to run manually. We’d advise against system-wide Registry cleansing for example. Let Windows do this for you. The other secret is to find a maintenance tool you can trust, from a recommended developer.

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German software developer SoftMaker has unveiled SoftMaker FreeOffice 2018: Anniversary Update, extending major new features and compatibility improvements to its free office suite for Windows, Mac and Linux.

The update, officially dubbed Revision 966, comes with dozens of new features across the suite’s three main applications: TextMaker, PlanMaker and Presentations. It also updates its compatibility settings to work seamlessly with Microsoft Office 2019 documents.

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AOMEI has released AOMEI Backupper Standard 5.0, the first major update of its freeware Windows backup, imaging, sync and cloning tool since December 2016.

Version 5 unveils a long-overdue design refresh, attempting with some success to provide a flatter, more modern interface in keeping with Windows 10. There’s also the promise of faster file sync, but in the main the program’s functionality remains identical to earlier versions, providing file- and image-based backup, sync and cloning.

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CERN -- the European Organization for Nuclear Research best known for its particle smashing Large Hadron Collider -- has decided to eschew Microsoft in favor of open source software.

For many years, CERN benefited from hefty discounts on Microsoft products, but this is coming to an end. Rather than paying hugely increased licensing fees, the organization is instead implementing its own Microsoft Alternatives project, known as MAlt. CERN says it is "taking back control using open software".

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Bern software developer iterate GmbH has unveiled Cyberduck 7.0, a major new release of its free FTP/WebDAV/cloud client for Windows and Mac. The tool allows users to browse, download, upload and share files via its Explorer/Finder-like window.

Version 7.0’s big new feature is support for segmented downloads, with the promise of quicker, more stable downloads. It also expands sharing options for various cloud storage connections.

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Let's face it, most of us don’t lose data that often, but when you do, it takes time to scurry around and find a tool to attempt recovery. Time is important for finding deleted files. The more often your computer writes to the drive, the less likely you’ll be able to recover data.

Although it’s rare for a hard drive to fail or for an individual to 'accidentally' delete important data you need in the future, once it happens, you’ll want software to help you recover, swiftly.

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