Featured Freeware

From the makers of the popular scene-rendering program Bryce comes DAZ Studio, a powerful 3D-modeling and CAD program for Windows and Mac that looks great but is a resource hog and can be sluggish for the average user.

The publisher recommends having at least 256MB of RAM, but that's wishful thinking. The program runs choppily on anything less than 1GB, although some of the more complex rendering was processed more slowly than others. It also requires an OpenGL-compatible graphics card with at least 128MB of RAM onboard, so machines built before 2003 will certainly struggle. This isn't unusual … Read more

It's not going to win any design awards, but this handy program for monitoring your PC's bandwidth usage offers a nice set of features. BitMeter is easy to follow, and stars a floating graph with simple text displays for real-time downloads and uploads. You can customize the display's color and transparency.

Considering its small size, BitMeter provides an impressive amount of options and information. You can view summaries of network activity with hourly, daily, and monthly breakdowns, or receive audio notifications that can be set by transfer size and direction. The built-in calculator is useful for computing … Read more

FlashGet looks and feels like a download accelerator worth paying for, which makes it all the more appealing since it's free. (But you knew that, this being the Featured Freeware and all.)

After installation, a small, dark icon with three lightly-colored triangles will appear in the upper right corner of your monitor. Until you drag it elsewhere, the FlashGet icon will live there permanently, and is always "on top" of whatever program you're using at the time. Simply drag the link you want to download onto the FlashGet icon, drop it and hit the Okay button; … Read more

Miranda IM lacks the slick design of many instant-messaging programs, but makes up for it by supporting most IM clients in one fully customizable package. There's also a portable edition, designed for carrying around on a USB key. Like Pidgin or Trillian, it's easy to add your various IM accounts--including AIM, Yahoo, ICQ and MSN--and you'll have the same icons and status messages for each program. You can even manage the personal information for all your accounts from one central control panel.

Miranda IM's plain, gray instant-messaging window offers just the basics for typing and viewing … Read more

Add another name to the roster of feature-rich freeware image editors: PhotoScape. Although it eats and leaks about as much memory as Firefox--no, really!--this editor is just about perfect for those making the jump between JPEG and am-pro digital SLR work.

The program loads fast and possesses an interface completely different from those familiar with Adobe's industry-leading tools. Users are greeted by a circular navigator complemented by a tabbed nav. on the top of the main screen. PhotoScape supports RAW, as well as all other major image formats from JPEG and PNG to animated GIFs. It comes with … Read more

SpywareBlaster started out as a malicious-software blocker focused on ActiveX-based attacks. It has kept that component and expanded, and now can block all kinds of spyware that gets delivered through your Web browser, although its defenses are most useful for Internet Explorer users.

The dedicated IE tools are useful. Users can block all Flash content, create encrypted backups of the Hosts file, manage browser page settings, block cookies, and create customized ActiveX blocks. Firefox and Netscape-specific protection only offers cookie blocking, but you can create a customized blacklist that will function across multiple browsers. Users can also create a system … Read more

Other players may receive more attention, but it's hard to beat Quintessential Player's efficiency, stability, and flexibility. Easily customizable and built to support almost any plug-in, this freeware tool also has a fine video player. CD-ripping and MP3-converting features increase the program's value without bloat.

The stylish interface includes a lot of sensibly set hot keys, making playback and music management a no-click affair. It also is completely skinnable, with plenty of designs created by a large community of developers and fans. The extremely helpful Quintessential Player Web site provides a library of optional tools and full … Read more

A simple-looking block-building game, Blocksum differs in a few regards from other Tetris clones. First, the blocks rise from the bottom, instead of falling from the top. When they fill up the screen to the top, your game is over. Second, instead of matching colors or shapes, you are matching numbers, and a heck of a lot of them. The result is a frenetic and unique puzzle game that will appeal to those with serious Tetris and counting skills.

There aren't any instructions in the game, so you'll have to figure it out for yourself. Here's some … Read more

Part community and mostly file sharing, DC++ occupies an unusual niche in the P2P game. Unlike torrents, which are direct peer connections, or centralized networks like LimeWire, DC++ manages connections to hubs. Most hubs are built around an interest, such as science fiction or movies. From there, you can chat and share files with other peers who are connected to the same hub.

However, many hubs place restrictions on connections to ensure that users are devoting their attention to the hub. The number of hubs you can connect to depends on how many Upload share slots you give, and you … Read more