Best free stuff online: Top 10 downloads

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March 31, 2000
Web posted at: 8:06 a.m. EST (1306 GMT)

by Max Green

(IDG) -- Spanning the Web to bring you the finest in freebies, PC World lists the best sites for the resourceful, penny-pinching and downright cheap.

Today: Top 10 most popular downloads in the FileWorld library.

FileWorld's 10 most popular downloads

Free software: It's the greatest thing since coffee refills. PC World Online's own FileWorld library offers more than 4000 free programs for everything from business apps to screen savers. You won't ever see Windows on this list, but there are plenty of free Windows enhancements. Below is a list of the ten most popular downloadsin the library.

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Monday: Best freeware and communications freebies Tuesday: Best health, reference and advice sites Wednesday: Best sites for consumers Thursday: Best entertainment sites & sites that pay you Friday: Top 10 most popular downloads

1. All Icons: Over 4000 full-color icons for Windows 9x. Categories include cartoons, games, rock stars, sports, and art.

2. Internet Explorer 5.01 & 5.5 Beta: The latest versions of Internet Explorer feature a smaller footprint, faster rendering, and automatic Web form completion. They include Outlook Express, NetMeeting, and FrontPage Express. Version 5.5 beta also offers better support for DHTML and vertical text. Plus, it has a print preview feature.

3. WinAmp: This high-fidelity music player supports WAV, MP3, CD, WMA, Audiosoft, MOD, and other audio formats. It features a playlist editor and a ten-band graphic equalizer.

4. Star Wars Prequel Screen Savers: These two screen savers include sound, pictures, and animations from The Phantom Menace, George Lucas's prequel to Star Wars. The Phantom.zip file also includes behind-the-scenes photos.

5. RegRepair 2000: Have you ever had to reformat your hard drive after a crash? This utility can help save you from that fate. It systematically repairs and corrects problems with Registry files, corrupt font files, and more.

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6. Clean System Directory: This program scans your hard drive for .dll files and identifies those that are no longer referenced by any programs. You can then delete these files--saving disk space and improving system performance.

7. James Bond Screen Savers: Display the classic James Bond opening sequence and watch Agent 007 blow bullet holes through your desktop. You'll also see the requisite Bond girls, gadgets, heroes, and villains.

8. X-Files Desktops: The conspiracy is out there; and now it's on your computer, too. The X-Files desktop theme includes wallpaper, icons, and .wav file sound effects for tasks such as emptying your Recycle Bin or exiting Windows.

9. DirectX: Download the latest version of Microsoft's multimedia technology for Windows, and you'll be ready to rock with the next generation of media apps and 3D games. These drivers update the application programming interfaces for Windows 9x. The components include DirectPlay, DirectDraw, DirectSound, DirectInput, and Direct3D. Version 7.0 offers enhanced graphics and audio capabilities, as well as faster frame rates.

10. Netscape Communicator 4.6: This popular Internet communications suite lets you browse and create Web pages, send e-mail, and chat. The latest version also allows you to access local information (weather, movie times, and so forth). It features RealPlayer G2, PalmPilot Synch tools, and 56-bit cryptography for secure transactions.

This is the last in a five-part series of "Best free stuff online".

Technology - Best free stuff online: It pays to play
March 30, 2000
Best free stuff online: Catering to consumers
March 29, 2000
Best free stuff online: Advice abounds
March 28, 2000
Best free stuff online: Freeware and Comms
March 27, 2000
Top 10 free software downloads
March 14, 2000
Free software from CA and AMD manages desktops
February 10, 2000
Excite offers free Net access
January 10, 2000

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