PC World Reveals List of ”101 Fantastic Freebies”
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – MARCH 28, 2007 – Today, PC World released its "101 Fantastic Freebies" article http://find.pcworld.com/56879 , which includes a wide range of free services, downloads, Web sites, and more. Also included is the "People's Choice Awards" http://find.pcworld.com/56820 survey with input from PCWorld.com visitors. The story is featured in PC World's May 2007 issue, and will be on newsstands April 10.
For anyone who's ever wondered which free email service is really the best, or what's the easiest way to back-up your system, this article delivers valuable information about where to find these freebies. PC World editors tested and evaluated hundreds of downloads and services before narrowing it down to the top 101, with a designated "winner" in each of 23 categories from desktop search tools to video sites. Each service or program had to meet certain criteria in terms of design, usefulness, functionality, and of course, they all had to be free.
From standard services we are all familiar with like IM and e-mail, to freebies that have directly impacted peoples' lives, PC World editors covered it all. For example, Captain Ronnie Young of the United States Air Force said that Craigslist and Google Earth actually helped save lives during Hurricane Katrina. He and his team used Craigslist to scour the hundreds of postings that listed missing loved ones, and used Google Earth to cross-reference street addresses as existing maps of New Orleans were completely useless since half the city was under water. Young said, "Just because it's free, that doesn't mean it's not up to the task of doing great things…I definitely can credit those free tools for absolutely saving lives."
Here is the list of our 101 Fantastic Freebies, broken out into 23 categories:
Desktop Search
Google Desktop (winner)
Copernic Desktop Search
Windows Desktop Search
Yahoo! Desktop Search
Windows XP Tweaks
Fresh UI (winner)
Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP
Tweak and Tune
Windows Vista Tweaks
TweakVI Basic (winner)
VistaBootPRO
Easy BCD
Instant Messaging, Voice, and Video
Meebo (winner)
Jajah
Skype
Gizmo
Yahoo! Messenger
Trillian
Windows GAIM
Google Talk
Security
Avast (winner)
ZoneAlarm
AVG Anti-Virus Free
SMAC
Microsoft Windows Defender
Spybot Search & Destroy
Entertainment
VLC Media Player (winner)
iTunes
Foobar2000
Image Editing
Google Picasa (winner)
Snapfire
Irfanview
StudioLine Photo Basic
Microsoft Photo Info
FastStone MaxView
Media Purveyor