skype and other neat programs

[mechanicalbrain]

i recently came across a program called skype (www. skype.com) its a lot like any other instant message service but it has a call feature that lets you actually verbally talk to other users and actually make telephone calls though you have to pay for those calls (5 cents a min i think) anyhew you can also have conference calls (no video conferencing ). i know there are other free programs that do similar things but i was surprised by the ease of use. so the point of this thread is who knows any really cool free programs and would like to share. they can be anything.

[sanddrag]

Umm, why would you download a program to make a phone call as opposed to picking up the telephone?

[mechanicalbrain]

why use a phone instead of skype (its just another way) becuase it has outher cool features but yes it just like a cell but then agian why use IM rather than calling people? becuase its cool. also the point of the thread is to exchange cool programs not point out obvious stupidities of aspects of the internet

[Adam Richards]

Well, you could just use Skype for it's original purpose and do voice im's..

One product that I used to use was http://www.freeworlddialup.com/, which allowed you to make free phone calls to any land line worldwide, yet I do not know if the program still works anymore, ever since they started to use Pulver Communicator as their medium of choice.

Firefox is also this neat little web browser that is near impossible to hijack and it doesn't accept spyware as easily as Internet Explorer... I think some people may have heard of it here as well

[wilshire]

OMG how I <3 Firefox. Anyways My IM program of choice right now is Trillian.

[MrToast]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

Umm, why would you download a program to make a phone call as opposed to picking up the telephone?

My family uses Skype to "call" my siblings over in Europe (in London, Kiev, and Budapest). The whole "free" thing sure beats international rates!

Dave

[evulish]

Yeah, Skype is great for international stuff. I used up a 600 minute phone card in 25 minutes talking to friends overseas. Insane. I got skype and my pair of headphones.. free international call. It's nothing I'd use to replace a real phone, but it's handy if you want to talk overseas.

[mechanicalbrain]

okay its cool everyone loves Skype . but i made this post to see if people had any other cool free programs that they use.

[Conor Ryan]

Ok this is my list of my favorite Free Programs (though you can pay for some)! Also Yay for Open Source!

Firefox-It's the offical nerd success story mozilla.org
Trillian/Gaim-No matter what operating system you are on these programs are a must for Instant Messaging Trillian (for windows) Gaim (for everything else)
Open Office-Total Owns Word Download here!
Spybot S&D 1.4-Well its the best spyware removal tool you can get here
Skype-Call me @ cdr1122334455 and if you don't have it get it here
Winrar- No one can compact a file like they do it owns winzip
VLC Media Player-Its Small, efficent, and plays frigging everything, did i mention its free and Ad less unlike every other media player out there get it!
WindowBlinds-It's got a lot of ad's and stuff, but its my favorite skinning tool for windows looks pretty cool

i think thats most of the free programs i use.

[mechanicalbrain]

yeah winrar really rocks

[wk1989]

Because it's a lot cheaper, and free if you call another skype user..
Get yourself a copy oif Knoppix, it's a Linux live cd that comes with tons of cool software.

[wilshire]

also for any of you who are looking for a free and great compiler. Dev-C++

[DCA Fan]

Gaim is awesome, so is skype...I've taken a liking to it quite well...Firefox is a must!

For those who like graphics, try Pixia.

[Redneck]

Lavasoft's Ad-Aware. It's a spy-ware/ad-ware removal tool like Spybot, but much more thorough.

AstonShell - replaces Explorer as your Windows shell. VERY cool. www.astonshell.com

[Andy A.]

For the best is open source audio editing, you can't go wrong with Audacity.

For general ripping needs, I use CDex, also free. Downloads here. .

Those are my favorites, off the top of my head.

-Andy A.