Freeloader Friday Download of the Week
Best Freeware of 2006
Best on the Web:
The Google Browser: Browser Sync and Toolbar beta
Google grabs top web browser honors - without a browser. With tools to synchronize your data between computers and drag-to-window Word and Excel editing the Web OS is here.
Honorable mention: Firefox 2, Flock 0.7
Freeware Classic:
NeoOffice
OpenOffice.org meets Aqua. We know OpenOffice.org is working on a Mac native version, but for now count on NeoOffice to let OpenOffice.org 2.0 loose from X11.
Honorable mention: Abiword
System Extension:
Quicksilver
This free application has grown from a novelty to a whole new way to use your Mac. QuickSilver has a cult following and powerful time-saving features.
Honorable mention: YASU, rooSwitch lite
Best Plugin:
PodTube
This was the year of YouTube. Get PodTube and get all those dancing ninja clips off YouTube and on your iPod.
Honorable mention: Flip4Mac WMV, Growl
Best Cross-Platform:
Firefox 2
With 2.0 Firefox is fast and more Mac-native that 1.x. Hundreds of cross-platform extensions help Firefox deliver a great experience on both OS X and Windows.
Honorable Mention: YamiPod
Best Mac Switcher:
Skype
Skype introduced a feature-par version for the Mac, including support for video calling.
Honorable Mention: Google Earth
Best Web Service:
activeCollab
This web service is a do-it-yourselfer. The ability to enjoy Bascamp-like project management online for free is indispensable to the creative Mac professional.
Honorable Mention: Writely (now Google Docs), NetVibes
Best Mac-Only:
ImageWell 3
With version 3, ImageWell is only getting better. New features offer a better interface and more editing tools to know out and upload images easily.
Honorable Mention: iSquint, Xcast
Pro App:
Scribus
This Open Source page layout application runs without X11 support and includes powerful document management capabilities.
Honorable Mention: Google SketchUp
Road Warrior:
iStumbler
iStumbler sniffs out WiFi, Bluetooth and Bonjour. You won't find a free wireless detector with a more refined interface and feature set.
Honorable Mention: Chicken of the VNC, Hotspot Shield
What a year! Here's to more great free software in 2007. Thanks for reading!
All personal comments should be sent to the author. All other discussion should be done in the Forums
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