There's a lot of software out there that you can download free – either completely free or to try for 30 days free before buying.

Three great sites

There are three great places where you can find freeware and shareware. The first of these is www.zdnet.com. This site is aimed more at the technology minded but does offer downloads of interest to just about anyone. After logging on, just click on Downloads on the top menu bar. Unless you're in business for yourself or are a Info Tech manager, you'll probably want to go to and click on Utilities.

This section has literally hundreds of downloadable utility programs, including programs for data recovery, fixing your registry file, undeleting files, managing files, and increasing computer performance. Most of these programs offer free 30-day “demos,” after which you must buy them. However, the prices are right – usually they range in price from $19.95 to $49.95.

Twocows.com

A site that caters more to the non-techie goes by the name of www.twocows.com. Its inventory is more eclectic than that of zdnet as it even includes games and downloads for your iPod. The Games category is subdivided into Action, Arcade, Board Games, Card Games, and more. For example, click on Board Games and you'll find titles such as 100% Free Checkers, 100% Free Chess, Backgammon and ?BattleShip. Or click on iPod and you'll find program such as Text to iPod Notes, SharePod and memoPod. Almost all of these are freeware, meaning you can get them absolutely free.

Download.com

The third site I like is www.download.com. Like Twocows, this site is aimed more at us non-techies, with categories such as Audio & Video, Design and Photo, Desktop Enhancements, Home and education and Mac Software. Click on Desktop Enhancements, for example, and you'll find titles such as Webshots Desktop, WindowsBlinds, Object Dock and Cursor XP. And just in case you're wondering what WebShots Desktop does, it's a free photo management tool that combines wallpaper and screen saver functionality with tools for managing an sharing your personal photos.

Check out these three sites and I'm sure you'll find some good, useful programs you can download and use free or at a very low cost.

Here's something else that's free. It's a new technology called HD Radio that enables AM and FM radio stations to broadcast their programs digitally. This is a tremendous technological leap from today's familiar analog broadcasts. These digital broadcasts provide listeners with radically improved audio quality, more radio channels through multicasting, and new data services. To learn more about this amazing new technology, just go my Web site, http://www.hd-radio-home.com, to get all the buzz.

Douglas Hanna is a retired marketing executive and the author of numerous articles on HD radio, the Internet and family finances.

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