Microsoft Giving Away Free Stuff ?
Microsoft aren’t really famous for free software but they have some cool stuff that is totally free. I have rounded up all I can find and am posting it here. There is everything from cool themes for your Windows 7 machine to Virtual PCs to run older operating systems on your Windows Computer.
Window dressing
Windows 7 theme packs. Not Happy with the themes that come with Windows 7 ? There are more here including some cool ones featuring Ducati’s and Ferrari’s, and even Coke and Pepsi.
XP theme packs. Here are some XP themes including Egypt Nile theme Nunavut theme or Ontario theme
Office Clip Art. Dress up your Word documents with these Clip Art freebies from Microsoft
Office 2007 Templates. Can’t find the right template in Office ? There are more here
Productivity Tools
Office 2007 Search for Commands. This nifty tool lets you search for commands in a search box. If you can’t f the button your looking for, then you enter a word or phrase into the search command box and Office finds commands related to your search. A must have click here
For The Geeks. If you use command line then this freebie is for you. Its a Windows Command Reference Help File. This handy reference will bring out the inner geek in you and have you performing tasks you didn’t know you knew 🙂 Click Here
Speed Launch. This cool tool allows you to drag anything be it a shortcut, file, or URL, etc, onto the Speed Launch Bulls eye and then name it. You then click on the bulls eye to launch it. Very Cool Click Here
Windows Live Sync. If like me, you use more than one computer, then this tool lets you keep all your files synced across all your computers. This handy application works on both Windows and Mac OS X Click Here
Desktops. This application allows you to create several Virtual desktops, so you can have a different desktop depending on what you are up too. One for Video editing, one for making music and one for internet or day to day stuff. You can swap between Desktops using either the system tray icon or set up hotkeys. Click Here
Utilities
Virtual PC. This application is based on the technology Microsoft built for XP mode in Windows 7 Professional. In windows 7, it allows you to run software designed for XP. Microsoft had supplied a compatibility mode in Vista, that was very hit and miss but this technology uses a virtual machine and is a much better option. Click Here
Expression Encoder 3.0 This tool is aimed at web developers wanting to use various media in Silverlight (Microsoft’s Flash equivalent) but its a handy tool for anyone who uses video. You can edit(V basic), crop and do various other functions and its only limitation(free version) is you can only save in WMV. Click Here
Insomia. If you are doing a back up or running that long overdue virus scan, the last thing you want is Windows going to sleep half way through. Thi application will keep your machine awake while you perform a lengthy task and works by having a window open that prevents sleep mode cutting in. When your finished you just close the window and your machine will go back to your normal sleep settings. Simple but effective Click Here
Scalable Fabric. Well this application is best described by Microsoft and I quote Scalable Fabric is a task management system for the Windows desktop. A central focus area, defined by you, contains windows that behave in the traditional way. When you drag a window into the periphery, it becomes smaller and continues to get smaller the closer you get to the edge of the screen. This makes it possible to keep windows open all the time, and change “minimize” to mean “return to the periphery”. Groups of windows can easily be created to represent different user tasks. Switching between groups is done simply by clicking on the task marker flag. I’d say it shrinks applications to a small thumbnail picture so you can see at a glance whats what, rather than minimizing them. Click Here
SyncToy This is a free app that synchronizes files and folders between locations. Typical uses include sharing files, such as photos, with other computers and creating backup copies of files and folders. Click Here
No doubt I will discover more in my travels on the interweb and when I do I’ll add them
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