There are things you definitely don't want to get after their expiration date. Milk, egg, and bread come to mind. But then there are Power Bars and other processed foods that taste exactly the same years after their expiration date has come and gone. Not that we'd know.
It turns out you can get a free copy of Paragon Hard Disk Manager that's a little past its prime as well. Although the free offer was supposed to expire in April, if you visit the Paragon site to register your product and download your software from Computer Active, you can get a fully licensed copy of this Windows application which would normally set you back around $50.
Paragon has a couple of useful features. First, you can use the software to create, delete, or resize partitions on your hard drive. But you can also use it to create or restore images of your entire disk or copy the entire hard drive to another disk. Here are a few more features:
Merge partitions
Redistribute free space
Schedule backups
Differential backups
Copy partitions
Explore disc images
This offer could expire at any time. There are also plenty of free disk partitioning apps out there, but few have has many features or are as easy to use as Paragon's software. But if all you need is a simple partitioning tool, you might want to check out Parted Magic, which can be run from a LiveCD or a USB flash drive.
After successfully releasing the last Nine Inch Nails album in 100% digital format with a variety of pricing levels ranging from free to $300, Trent Reznor has decided to go all out and give away the band's new album, "The Slip" for free. You can download all ten tracks in a variety of DRM-free formats, including MP3, FLAC, M4A lossless, and even 24/96 WAV.
This latest move proves one of two things:
It's possible to give away your music for free and make money by touring, and asking fans to pay for premium content.
Trent Reznor has made so much money from music that he can affort to give away his songs for free.
While we'd really like to think that numbe one is true, there's no doubt that the second option is absolutely true. In other words, this is hardly a business model that's going to work for most struggling musicians. But it's encouraging to see the direction that some popular artists are taking when they're freed from the shackles of the major record labels.
Note taking and organization application Evernote comes in a few forms. There's a Windows Desktop application, a mobile cleint, a web client, and a beta Mac desktop client. The Windows app would normally set you back $50, while the Mac version is in private beta, meaning you can only download the software if you have a beta invitation.
While we have a few invites to give away, Giveaway of the Day has an unlimited number of beta invites. But you have to sign up today. You probably figured that out once you read that the site was called Giveaway of the Day, but we thought we'd make it clear.
Oh, and if you're a Windows user, you can download and install a full version of the Windows desktop client for free today only as well. Just makes sure to follow the download links and instructions available at Giveaway of the Day.
When popular Mac RSS reader NetNewsWire started offering the full version of its software for free, there was plenty of speculation that its competitors would follow suit. Not too surprisingly, NewsFire, another top player in the OS X newsreader market, is now free too. Its features are competitive with those offered by NetNewsWire, and it's UI is arguably the best out there.
Despite having a great product, it's probably a good thing that David Watanabe is now releasing NewsFire for free. Last year, we reported on the woes of the product registration system for Newsfire -- customers could activate the software with just an e-mail address, and they had some unfriendly communication with the developer when he thought they were using it on too many machines. Now that NewsFire is free, Watanabe can keep his product competitive with NetNewsWire without having to deal with the registration issue.
If you need a full-featured RSS reader, but you don't like the looks of NetNewsWire, you should definitely give NewsFire a shot. The price is right!
While we're not particularly used to hearing the words "free" and "Microsoft" in the same sentence, the software behemoth does offer a number of free utilities for download on its website. For example, there's SyncToy, Power Toys for XP, and Photo Story. Now Microsoft is also offering free downloads of its commercial developer tools. The only catch? You need to be a student in college or graduate school.
Students can download full versions of these applications. They aren't limited versions of the full software like Microsoft Accounting Express. The promotion, which Microsoft is calling DreamSpark is available to any student no matter what their area of study. But right now the deal is only good in 11 countries: the US, UK, Canada, China, Germany, France, Finland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Belgium.
You'll need a Windows Live ID to participate. And Microsoft will take steps to verify that you're really a student, so you need to enter the name of the school or institution that can confirm your status before you can download your program.
BBSmart HTML Email Viewer includes some pretty nifty features:
Improve the look and readability of all your emails
See images embedded in your email
Completely customizable: Change the background color, font size, style, and color to see emails exactly how you want
Integration with the existing email program
Add emails as Tasks and to your Calendar (OS 4.2 or higher only)
Tag your emails with SmartNotes!
NEW! Advanced Email Templates! When composing an email, instantly insert your business email signature, phone number - Anything you want!
If those features are enough to pique your interest, remember, time's a wasting: this offer is only good for today. BBSmart HTML Email Viewer requires BlackBerry Operating System (OS) v4.0.2 or higher and a data plan to view images.
There are a lot of funny, preconceived notions about Linux (and Linux users). Some ideas fall in to the realm of FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt). Some ideas have an inkling of truth to them, and have grown and mutated into full fledged myths. Sort of like how Vlad the Impaler became Dracula, but with a lot less violence and a lot more compiling.
Some of the myths may even be stopping you from trying Linux. You want to try it, sure... but it's too hard or can't do what you need or you're not a hacker.
Let's lay some myths to rest today. Pitchforks, torches and garlic are optional.
If you've ever wanted to sign up for a website just to check it out, but were hesitant to surrender your e-mail address for the fear of worthless e-mails filling your inbox to the brim, there is a solution as elegant as disposable tissues - and it's called Guerrilla Mail.
Now you may have already done something smart like create an e-mail account for the specific purpose of receiving confirmation e-mails and other internet formalities. A good solution, but cumbersome because you still have to login to "confirm" the address and all that other jazz.
This is where Guerrilla Mail shines. Go to the site, click on "give me temporary e-mail," and you have an e-mail address that is all yours for the next fifteen minutes. Receive the e-mails you need to confirm at the address, and voila, forget about it. The beauty of disposable e-mail. No login, no password, just a quick way to deal with the trash. And if you find that you need a little more time, you can always get an extra fifteen minutes.
Obviously, as cool as it is, not too good for important stuff like bank accounts or online transactions - not everything in life is disposable.
Who likes music by a wide variety of up and coming artists in many differing and unique genres? Who would like to be able to legally download that music to your computer and portable device? Who thought Spiderman 3 was the best of the trilogy?
If you answered in the affirmative to all three of those questions, we're afraid there's no hope for you, my friend. If you said yes to the above two, then read on!
Jamendo is one of the hottest places to legally download music, and they've just released a refreshed website. Updates include direct music downloads in http, more intuitive navigation, easier saving of tracks, albums, and playlists, and more.
All of the music on Jamendo is licensed by the Creative Commons license, meaning you can download, listen, burn, share, and talk about the songs as much as your heart desires. And though all the music is free, you can donate to the bands who have given you particular joy or satisfaction. Jamendo even shares 50% of its advertising revenue with artists who choose the "Revenue Sharing" program.
Jamendo also has a great community aspect; you can build customized playlists and share them with your friends and family.
Jamendo is currently running a contest in celebration of the release of their new version. The top 5 user playlists, as voted on by the users, will receive a free iPod Nano.
How sweet is that?
You can listen to free music, share what you like with your friends, and maybe win an iPod Nano. That's not just having your cake and eating it too. That's mixing the dough, putting it in the oven, frosting it, cutting it into pieces, and eating more than your fair share, all with a glass of ice cold milk.
So get cracking. Register for Jamendo if you haven't already and broaden those horizons.
Looking for a good replacement for the built-in contacts, calendar, and tasks applications on your Windows Mobile PDA or phone, but don't feel like shelling out $20 to $30? Handango's got you covered. Well, today anyway.
The mobile software store is offering up a free copy of Agendus for Windows Mobile today only. Agendus is a popular personal information manager that made a name for itself on PalmOS. Last year, Iambic decided to port the application to Windows Mobile.
While it may not have the name recognition of Agenda Fusion or Pocket Informant, Agendus does pack a bunch of features missing from Windows Mobile's default PIM suite. For example, you get more detailed week and month views, icons, and better integration of tasks, calendar, and contacts.
You've just laid out the scratch for a new 42" HDTV, hooked up surround sound speakers, and you're ready to tuck into a bowl of popcorn. Now all you need are some movies. Well, you've come to the right place.
Here are five great Web sites where you can legally download free movies and burn them to a DVD to watch with your sweetie, family, and friends this weekend.
The Internet Archive - This is the motherlode for all kinds of free media (it's even got video games). The Archive has loads of old movies, foreign films, documentaries, and more. There's even a couple of movies about ice cream (hey, we just blog about this stuff -- we can't explain it either).
Emol - If comedy and cartoons are what you're after, Emol.org is the place to go. Here's where you'll find Charlie Chaplin, The Three Stooges, Bugs Bunny, and Popeye.
AngryAlien - Just because none of these sites are likely to have the latest box office blockbuster available, that doesn't mean you can't still watch Fight Club, Pulp Fiction, or Star Wars. In less than 30 seconds. Acted out by bunnies.
PublicDomainTorrents - Head here for B-movies "Like Attack of the Giant Leeches", "Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter" (wonder what that love child looks like?), and "Track of the Moon Beast". On the other hand, you'll also find "Night of the Living Dead" on this site -- so it's not all bad.
AtomFilms - There are some very creative films on this site made up of mostly user-created content. AtomFilms is a service of MTV Networks that serves up content to mobile phones and Web sites, but since they're partnered with Comedy Central and Spike TV there are a few gems on here if you poke around a bit.
Adobe Flex Builder is an application for developing rich internet applications using the Flex framework. With this, developers can build intuitive interactive apps quickly. Why would Adobe be doing this? To try and gain some interest from new developers of course. Taking the lead from some fast food joints out there, hit them while at University and get them addicted, especially since some schools will begin offering Flex based training.
With retail prices sitting at $499, why not pick up a free copy for yourself if you are a student or faculty member and test your luck at application development. And hey, grab a copy for your non university friends too, it can sure make a great gift!
Those wonderful folks over at DAZ 3D are doing it again by making Bryce 5.5, a 3D landscape and animation tool, available as a free download. The latest version of their software is at 6.1, but with version 5.5 you get a free, fully functional version of the software with no time-limit or disabled features to worry about. If you've been itching to play around in the 3D world you should check this out. The software is available for both Mac and PC platforms.
For a limited time only...no not used cars, not poorly designed cleaning products, it's the Divx Pro bundle available free for the downloading. The bundle includes the Divx Pro Codec 6.6.1, Divx Content Uploader, Divx Converter 6.2.1 6.(MPEG2/DVD), Divx Player 6.4.3, and Divx Web Player.
Unfortunately, this Divx bundle is not ready for Microsoft Windows Vista (pout), despite the obligatory courtesy update-check on Divx's website. Everyone not running Windows Vista, feel free to download either the XP version or Mac Version and thumb your nose at anyone using Vista.
It is conceivable that the Divx programmers are hacking away at Vista logo requirements to make it ready for Microsoft's latest as we speak, but that is unconfirmed as of this writing.
Enjoy the free bundle, and note that the basic version (usually free) edition of this package contains a free 15-day trial of the converter, but today you get the full version of it with this limited time Pro bundle download from Divx.
Flipping through free font sites is not an ideal way to spend time (hate those pop-up ads) however, you can go to Fonts 500 which provides the top 500 fonts from some of the web's biggest free font archives. Here you can cull through your favorites and know that users like you found these the best to download.
Btw, the two fonts used in the Download Squad graphic are Heartland (for "Download" and Swatch (for "Squad").
You've just laid out the scratch for a new 42" HDTV, 
Flipping through free font sites is not an ideal way to spend time (hate those pop-up ads) however, you can go to 
