1. SlimBrowser- It's I.E. with tabbed browsing, groups, and a very good, trainable, pop-up remover. Don't think I need to say too much more about this.

2. Spybot Search and Destroy- First off, for those who don't know, it's a spyware removal device. Most people say go with Ad-aware but Spybot seems to run a little faster for me and seems to detect stuff Ad-aware doesn't. Also, it has some extra features that can be rather handy. Check it out.

3. GIMP- Just got back into it (an earlier version wasn't working on my box). It's just like Photoshop (which is also REALLY like) except it costs you aproximetly $0.00 (Canadian). It helps if you tweak a couple preferences (for example, making it all in one window instead of several) if you want that Photoshop feel at a nothing-what-so-ever price.

4. Daemon Tools- It can be used for some rather shifty things involving copy-protection but it can also be used to create a virtual CD drive on your computer based on an image file. Helpful if you want to switch between that Beatles and Rolling Stones CD without switching them or playing a game when you can't find the disc.

5. EV Nova- A really cool game! You basically fly around this huge universe in a ship doing whatever you want! Be a pirate (arr matey!), run trading missions to get rich, help out the government, see some alien planets, upgrade your ship, whatever. There are about six main plot lines with several sub-plots also open. Really great game. The "free" version is shareware so you can't complete a plot line but it's pretty cheap to register.

6. Rainlendar- It's a calendar program that stays on your desktop. It's pretty configurable allowing you to pick whichever month/year you want, have it synch with Outlook (haven't tried it yet...), etc. I really like the ability to program in notes on certain days. For example, got a report due on the 15th? Simply right click on that day, and hit set event. Then you can type in details. The day on the calendar now appears a different color reminding you. Double click on that day to see what you typed in before. I *think* you can have it pop-up reminders every so often but don't quote me on that.

7. Wallmaster- There are several programs out there like this. What you do is pop it open and point it to a folder. Then, it takes whatever images are in that folder and randomly (or not so randomly depending on what you set it to) it changes your desktop image. There are also hotkeys and options to change it if it pops up something your not in the mood for.

8. FreshDiagnose- Ever heard of SiSoft's Sandra? Basically it tells you exactly what's in your system, what type of memory, what slots are available on your motherboard, your graphics card, everything, pretty much down to the brand. It also has several benchmarks that you can run and has a pretty easy interface.

9. WinBlinds- I've been on a Windows XP editing rampage over the last couple of days. I really like WinBlinds, all you do is download a skin and a little box pops up saying you can now choose it. Then, just pop open your desktop properties and go over to appearence. There's a little box that's always been there with default, boring windows skins and, looky-there, your new skin! Cool!

10. ZMatrix- Lastly, for those Matrix freaks out there, ZMatrix. Load it up and your desktop becomes a live, moving, display of the now famous matrix code. You can set it to blend with your desktop and to say special messages along with whatever colors and such you want. Also, you can make it so it doesn't crash your system by giving it certain attention levels such as normal, idle, etc. Pretty cool!

There ya go, my top 10 favorite free programs right now. I'll try to keep you all informed of any other cool programs I happen across and keep you updated. Like what I mentioned? Didn't like what I mentioned? Feel free to comment!

Untill tommarow (or whenever I feel like coming back),
Gamefreak99