Multimedia Softwares

With so many media players around, Windows Media Player, Winamp, Real Player, Musicmatch Jukebox etc to name a few, ever wondered which is the best ?

• Winamp: Having tried all the softwares available to play music and movie files, I found the best software to be WINAMP. It is a comprehensive medial player with a capacity to play almost everything except for the proprietary "real audio" files.  Also available are a number of plug-ins that enhance your listening experience. I would recommend Winamp for all audio files. Winamp along with shoutcast plug-in and server can stream your music over the internet like a radio station. Also check out the Dee2 plug-in from the plug-ins page.

• Windows Media Player: Though I prefers winamp for my audio files, Windows Media 9 series  has been my favorite to play video files. With its new feature to minimize to the taskbar and also provide a small screen to view your video and its quick load, it forms the best software to play video files. To view DVD's I prefer the Cyberlink Power DVD software, though it is not a freeware, it is freely available with almost all pc configurations. A number of features in the software makes your DVD experience pleasurable.

• Cd Rippers: I am sure everyone at one time or the other would have wondered what the best software is to rip (copy audio files) from your music CD's to your Computer. Media Player, Winamp 5 and Musicmatch jukebox, all have the capability to rip music. Media player rips audio cd's to the windows media audio format (WMA)  format (free) and at a price provides a third party plug-in to rip audio cd's to MP3 files, it is not the most favorable of all. Winamp 5 has the capacity to rip audio cd's to MP3 files, but unless you upgrade to Winamp 5 Pro ($14.95), the ripping process is slow and cumbersome. Musicmatch does a great job of ripping and burning cd's but is again not a freeware. The best software to rip CD's and which is a freeware is Cdex-Cd ripper. Very easy to use and can rip music cd's into MP3's of various bit rates and frequencies.

• Media Converters: The next most common problem is conversion of music files from one format to the other. If you have already ripped your music cd's to WMA format using media player and you want to convert those into MP3 files so they can be played in the regular MP3 players or home based DVD players, DBpoweramp is the easiest software to achieve this.

Miscellaneous Softwares

• Lockspam: Spammers got you ? Outlook inbox is filled with spam messages, taking you hours to get rid before you can sort your actual mail ? Lockspam is the answer for you. Its free, fast and very efficient to block spam mails. Close outlook, download the software, install and let lockspam do the rest.

• Convert: Bad at math in school ? having problems converting from SI - CGS - MKS systems ? Don't know how many ounces are there in a kilogram ? Well me neither. I use a software called Convert. It is one freeware you cannot live without.

• Irfan View:  Irfan View is one of the best softwares to edit and convert picture files. Very simple to use, has a small footprint and does almost anything you need. Click here to download the software.

• Morph: Want  to morph pictures ? Smart morph is an easy morphing software. Download, install and start morphing.

• Word Web: Always running around to find the dictionary and the thesaurus ? try Wordweb, a free desktop dictionary and thesaurus.