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Compiled from suggestions by members of alt.comp.freeware. This list represents oft-requested programs, for which there is no Freeware option, as well as program functions that some would like to see in a Freeware program.
Authors, please note - some of the features which are often requested by Freeware users include:
- simple interface
- easy on resources
- small-size
- clean uninstall
| DESKTOP | |
| Garden Planner | WHY NEEDED: No Existing Freeware |
| Home Accounting | REQUIREMENTS: on-line banking: schedule payments: investment tracking, budgets, reports, multiple user accounts. WHY NEEDED: No Existing Freeware |
| Home Improvement/ Decorating Planner | WHY NEEDED: No Existing Freeware |
| Spreadsheet | REQUIREMENTS: full-featured; multi-page, stand-alone spreadsheet WHY NEEDED: only available as part of office suite downloads |
| FILE UTILITIES | |
| Search and Replace for BINARY files | REQUIREMENTS: global search and repace from a starting directory; recursive through subdirs; BINARY file compatible; Win95/98 compatible; FREEWARE for home and my desktop at work use. Nice to have: Display of what file is being processed or changed and Auto backups of those changed WHY NEEDED: Wineasy came the closest, but it is REAL slow. Replace 1.1.4 works on small directory trees, but sometimes hangs. Wintree is text-only. One SRsomething boldly stated. NO commercial use whatsoever |
| INTERNET | |
| Bookmark Manager | REQUIREMENTS: Combine Netscape and IE bookmarks; when bookmark is added to one list of bookmarks, the other list is altered as well, in realtime. WHY NEEDED: No Existing Freeware |
| Downloader | REQUIREMENTS: Multi-Server, Multi-Threading WHY NEEDED: No Existing Freeware |
| Information Manager | REQUIREMENTS: Keep track of already downloaded files; keep track of already printed Web pages / documents |
| MULTIMEDIA | |
| Midi Editor with good staff note entry | REQUIREMENTS: To open midi multitrack files, and show editable musical staves, probably eight at least; to play the files through the computer so that effects of edits can be heard WHY NEEDED: I do not believe there is any freeware that can do the above, though I have come across single track programs. You need two staves even for piano, four for choral, and six for choral plus basic accompaniment. Noteworthy composer has good note entering, but saves in it's own file format and does not preserve a lot of midi information, ie pan. My 1995 Cakewalk Express is good on most fronts, but deficient on staff entry - I don't know what the modern version does as there isn't even a demo version. |
| Music OCR | REQUIREMENTS: Able to scan a sheet of music and turn it into an editable/printable document. Must be able to do more than just simple music. WHY NEEDED: No Existing Freeware |
| ORGANIZERS | |
| Information Management | REQUIREMENTS: Combine the power of GoldenSection Notes and Skwyrul PRO. A fully searcheable tree with unlimited nodes. Full RTF notes with embedded images, hyperlinks, bullets and tables. Speed and simple uncluttered interface of Treepad |
| Outliner | REQUIREMENTS: Produce a standard outline with Roman Numerals, etc.; collect and copy outline items from multiple sources in the outline and move them with a single command; bin sorting, category and calendar views; similar to PCOutline / GrandView WHY NEEDED: PC Outline won't run on XP. Symantec has discontinued GrandView. No comparable freeware product. |
| Wall Calendar | REQUIREMENTS: 12 month printable calendar with photos: variable size: abililty to customize dates (add birthdays, etc.) WHY NEEDED: no existing freeware |
| SECURITY | |
| Spyware Module Check in Zip Scan | WHY NEEDED: No Existing Freeware |
| SHELL | |
| Shell Extension Editor | |
| Screen Capture - Animations | REQUIREMENTS: Able to snapshot an animated screen, and save it in a given choices of format (AVI, MPEG, GIF, etc.); able to snapshot an animated screensaver without closing it when activated, maybe by appropriated batched command WHY NEEDED: No Existing Freeware |
| Screen Capture - Direct X compatible | REQUIREMENTS: Intercept each time the user pushed Print Screen, and take a screenshot. WHY NEEDED: Windows already does this, but it doesn't work with certain programs, especially the fancy 3-d ones. |
| SYSTEM UTILITIES | |
| Printing Software | REQUIREMENTS: Print multiple logical pages on one physical page, including graphics. Print preview which allows deleting pages before printing. Queue to accumulate multiple submissions into one print job. Comparable Shareware: FinePrint WHY NEEDED: No Existing Freeware |
| Undelete | WHY NEEDED: No Unlimited Freeware |
| TEXT | |
| Handwriting Font Editor | REQUIREMENTS:Turn individual handwriting into font WHY NEEDED: No Existing Freeware |
| TTF Font Editor | REQUIREMENTS:There *is* a freeware (open source) TTF & Type 1 font editor: PfaEdit. Problem: it requires Cygwin to run on Windows, but Cygwin is not very easy to install and it takes hundreds of megabytes on your hard disk too... |
| Speech to Text | WHY NEEDED: No Existing Freeware |