Ask dotTechies: What is the best freebie you have ever received?
May 13, 2010 96
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Freebies are very popular on dotTech; and why shouldn’t they be? Everyone loves saving money thus everyone loves freebies. At this point in dotTech’s life – going to become 2 years old later this year – dozens of freebies have been posted. I am interested in knowing what freebies dotTechies consider to be the *best*. So, for this Ask dotTechies segment, I ask “What is the best freebie you have ever received?” The freebie does not have to be thanks to a dotTech “heads up” – it can be any freebie you received from anywhere. Like the last Ask dotTechies, there is no poll for this thread; rather please share your input via the comments below.
To get the ball rolling, I will share what I consider to be the best freebie I have ever received: WinPatrol Pro. No, I did not win WinPatrol Pro via a giveaway; Bill Pytlovany – the developer of WinPatrol – was kind enough to provide me with a free license because he appreciates the work I do on dotTech. (Maybe in the future dotTech and Bill can team up to sponsor a WinPatrol Pro giveaway, who knows.)
Now, it is your turn – what is the best freebie you have ever received?
About the author: Ashraf View all posts by Ashraf
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Well, in the freeware category I would say Irfanview.
In the “Pay for” category Glary Utils Pro.
JV16 Powers Tools 2009
I would like: Kaspersky or Avira Premium!
Thanks!
Freeware I have ever received is CCleaner.
Well, if we’re not talking about software, then the absolute best freebie I ever received from anyone was –
Ah. We are talking about software.
Sorry.
I attended a free Microsoft half-day program last Fall to introduce Windows 7. A nice program, at which I was given a Microsoft t-shirt, can opener (I know, but hey–it’s nifty and comes in handy), and a free year’s subscription to Norton Internet Security 2010. And then afterwards, Microsoft sent me a free 1-year subscription to its TechNet service, allowing me up to 10 free non-expiring licenses for each of its Microsoft products (and the right to download them). A great way to get copies of earlier Microsoft operating systems in all flavors, Windows 7, and the latest Microsoft Office (2010).
OK, a current kinda-freebie offer:
Norton Internet Security 2010 / Utilities 14.5 / Ghost 15 , free after 2 rebates (1 an upgrade rebate), with free ship; you just end up paying the tax on the original price.
http://www.frys.com/product/6117689?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
I must say that I’ve been happy with NIS 2010 (but have had major issues with Utilities in the past, and would not use it again without hesitation). Norton rebates come though smoothly, based on my many years of submitting them.
Ashampoo Burning Studio 2010
Paragon Hard Disk manager 2010. :)
I once had a limited version of RadioTracker that had no expire date. I had to do a system restore and lost it. No new free version is available that I know of. Great software for songs and internet radio.
Without a doubt, WinPatrol!
Superflexible File Synchronizer, I use it all the time !
The text expander “PhraseExpress” is the best freeware i ever received.
Anvir for system monitoring, and , Atmosphere just for it’s great meditative qualities :)
I just won Snagit 9 from @LifeRocks a few weeks ago on Twitter.
Best tip from dottech for a freebie for me has been FastStone Capture. From GAOTD it’s been 1AV Capture.
Best ‘free’ software I use more than anything is Gimp & now, MyPaint.
The best software freebie of all time; that’s a hard call. There are so many that I use on a regular basis that I’m happy with, many that have already been named.
But of all the freebies I have intstalled the one that got me to shell out some cash for the Pro version, I have to admit, is WinPatrol.
I could certainly name my favorites in categories, but I think one of the most useful freebies I’ve ever used, and still use is AIDA32 and System Information for Windows.
The best “freebie” I ever recieved was a copy of Adobe CS4 Master Suite I won at a FITC conference. Very sweet. :-),
BartPE
ERUNT
Saved me from total organ failure a number of times.
Without a running system, all the other (albeit it excellent programs) would be less than useful. It is not foolproof, but, at the very least, more often than not, it enables you to retrieve your data when Windows fails.
The other progs are useful and convenient, but the above is certainly essential.
My aplogies for wasting a bit of real estate – Forgot to tick the notify me box. This is a really informative and interesting subject.
the best freebie I’ve ever received was the last one, and that’s it!, I can’t control myself
ERUNT – is a lifesaver without it i would have had to do full reinstall.
FastStone Image Viewer – much more than just an image viewer, also check out:-
FastStone Photo Resizer - is also a re-namer
all free but well worth a small donation
I have a few entries ..
The one that’s given the most back to me is Paragon Backup software .. you can count on it when you need it.
I really love WinPatrol because I install and try out software often and it keeps them honest .. I know what changes it’s making to my startup and more.
Paint.NET is great image editor .. my favorite feature is the clone stamp tool to cleanup images.
As for system utilities .. I’ve personally got a lot of (safe) mileage out of CCleaner. I use WinUtilities to help cleanup my friends and family PCs .. install one package that does a lot.
CCleaner
Revo Uninstaller Pro. Great software!
Really like VistaStartMenu too.
Commands in Demand
I can’t live without it.