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Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Open Source

Open source Qmmander is a dual-pane, tabbed Explorer alternative

A web browser without tabs? Hard to come by. Windows Explorer, on the other hand, is still pretty much the same pane it's always been.

Qmmander is a lightweight, portable alternative. Built on Nokia's QT framework, Qmmander (like many Explorer replacements) adds tab support and split-window views to power up your file management tasks.

File browsing is snappy, even when exploring shares on a local area network. Qmmander's panes can be displayed horizontally or vertically, and an extensive set of hotkeys is built-in for those who prefer mouse-free computing. Qmmander's interface isn't overly-complicated and it still sports a nice set of features in a small, portable package.

However, one feature advanced users might find lacking in Qmmander is the ability to bookmark or favorite folders. It would certainly make for a thoughtful addition. I usually work in the same set of 5 or 6 folders, so being able to load them quickly and easily would be a real time-saver.

Qmmander is free, portable, open source, and runs on Windows. It's packed as a 7z archive, so you'll need an app (like 7-zip) to extract it.

Filed under: Design, Photo, Windows, Freeware

ArtWeaver: a Viable, Free Photoshop Alternative?

Before the shouting begins, no, ArtWeaver is not a Photoshop "clone."

You won't find the same multitude of tools Photoshop offers, but ArtWeaver is a promising option for people wanting a slimmed-down alternative that offers the functions that beginning and intermediate users want.

Artweaver's interface is uncomplicated and should be comfortable for anyone who's used Photoshop before. The included help file is very detailed, and provides tons of information and useful tips to get you started.

So, what kind of tools does Artweaver offer?
  • Selection tools: Rectangular and eliptical selection, freehand and polygonal lasso, magic wand
  • Brushes: standard, airbrush, cloning, and a ton of "artist" brushes (like charcoal, chalk, felt pen, pencil, impasto)
  • Shapes tool: rectangle, rounded rectangle, ellipse, polygon, and custom shapes
  • Eraser, paint bucket, stamp, crop, and move tools
  • A nice set of color palettes (Windows, Mac, Web, etc.)
  • Filters
  • Grid and perspective grid overlays
Tablet input is supported, and Artweaver provides an easy calibration tool. Pressure settings can be tied to effects like opacity, grain, jitter, angle, and flow on your brush tool's advanced palette. It's also much less resource-intensive than Photoshop and runs very well on my Intel Atom-powered netbook.

Couple Artweaver's core functionality with the fact that it can be extended by plugins, it certainly has the potential to be a very competent Photoshop alternative.

Filed under: Photo, Adobe, Commercial, Freeware, Open Source

Theft is Bad Karma: Stop Pirating Photoshop!

I understand that Photoshop is a great program. I'm willing to concede that there's really no comparable software for the professional user. What I just don't get is why the average user thinks 1) they need Photoshop and 2) they need to pirate it.

A few years ago, no one came in and asked me "Can you put Photoshop on my computer?" Most users hadn't even heard of the program. Now the perception from the public seems to be that if you want to edit photos at all, you've got to have Photoshop to do it - and that you might as well just steal it.

But why? Most users don't need even half of the functionality in Photoshop, and there are plenty of great editors that are easy to use, less hard on computer resources, and completely free.

Clear your conscience and try one of these alternatives!

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Filed under: Audio, Features, Windows, Macintosh, Linux

iTunes Alternatives

iTunes Alternatives
As the comment section from our recent post about the latest iTunes update shows, not everyone is in love with iTunes. Especially for Windows users, the program can be buggy, hog memory/system resources and it tries to force users to organize and store their music in a certain way (hey, some of us have very specific, if a bit arcane, organizational methods and we don't want iTunes to force us to put everything in "My Music" in artist/album folders).

The program's strength lies with its perfect integration with the iPod and the iTunes Store (which for all intents and purposes, IS iTunes the application). So what do you do if you don't like iTunes - but still want a program that will easily (and reliably) work with your iPod? We've scoured the web and found the best iTunes alternatives, both for music and iPod management for Windows, Linux, and yes, even some OS X alternatives.

Here at DownloadSquad, we like software to be free - especially if it is replacing another free program - and almost every utility or program we mention is free or has a free version available.

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Featured Time Waster

Graveyard Shift - zombie-busting Time Waster

With Halloween fast approaching, it's a great time to get in some practice defending your territory against zombies. In Graveyard Shift, you take aim at zombies and other creepy-crawlies, blasting them into splatters of cartoony green guts. It's a casual first-person shooter, and it's very easy to get the hang of - use the mouse to aim, click to fire. Graveyard Shift has at least 15 levels, and it might even have some secret stages I haven't unlocked yet. They key to getting good at Graveyard Shift is learning to use ...

View more Time Wasters

Featured Galleries

Defective by Design, London: Protest Pictures
Microsoft Security Essentials
Chromium Pre-Alpha on CrunchBang Linux
Safari 4 Beta
10 Firefox themes that don't suck
IE8 RC1
Download Squad at the Crunchies After-Party
Download Squad at the Crunchies
WordPress 2.7
Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals
Windows 7 Hands On
Comodo Internet Security
Android First-look: Amazon.com MP3 Store
Android First-look: Twitroid
Google Reader Android
Android Hands-On
Twine 1.0
Photoshop Express Beta
Mozilla Birthday Cake
Palm stuff
Adobe Lightroom 1.1

 


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