Downloads

Internet (and related) Software

This page includes links to software recommended by the Webmaster (much of it open source or free) for WWW surfing, general Internet use and web site design. Almost all of our site is fully accessible via a web browser but there will be occasions when a plug–in or additional software may enhance the experience or provide access to additional materials.

Browsers

Webmaster’s top recommendation: Firefox.
Which browser is best for you? Read Browse Happy and it should help you to make up your mind.

Written in XHTML 1.0 Strict, our web site will (should!) function in any browser and on any operating system. However, it will look best in a standards–compliant browser and if you are using an older browser (e.g. version 4 or 5 — or earlier — of Internet Explorer or Netscape) you might like to consider upgrading to a more recent version. If you are uncertain as to which browser to use, then my recommendation is to use Firefox — it is the most standards–compliant browser currently available for Windows users, is free, is fast, is available for all platforms, has high levels of privacy and security, and has excellent features such as tabbed browsing, pop–up window disabling, extensions and themes.

All of the following browsers are available for Windows, Linux and Mac, and a few have versions for other operating systems as well:
Firefox
Internet Explorer
Mozilla
Netscape
Opera
If you need an alternative, specialist or older browser, you will probably find it at the Evolt Browser Archive or The BrowserList Project.

E–mail

The Bat is not free and it is not perfect but is recommended for those looking for a powerful and sophisticated system
Thunderbird is an excellent and free e–mail program from the Mozilla organisation: easy and intuitive to use, with a host of useful features, including built–in intelligent spam filters

Essential Plug–ins

Well, not strictly essential, but they do enrich your browsing experience:

Document Accessibility

Adobe Acrobat Reader - for reading .pdf (Portable Document Format) files

Flashy Stuff

Macromedia Flash Player
Macromedia Shockwave Player

Multimedia (audio and video)

Adobe SVG Player (dynamic and interactive Scalable Vector Graphics player for Windows and Mac)
Apple Quicktime (for Windows and Mac)
Real Player (NB with care, it is still possible to download the free version and to keep your privacy — but you have to keep your wits about you and jump through countless hoops)
Scorch (for viewing, playing back and printing out music compositions and arrangements created using Sibelius — NB Mozilla browsers seem to be unsupported, despite what it says on the Sibelius Scorch web site)
Winamp (audio player for Windows and Mac)
Windows Media Player (for Windows, Mac, and several other versions available)

Internet Privacy and Security

It is essential to have firewall and anti–virus protection. Remember to keep your anti–virus program updated (i.e. at least once a day) — most programs can be set to update themselves automatically. The following programs are generally highly regarded:
Avast Anti-Virus (a free version is available)
AVG Anti-Virus (a free version is available)
Zone Alarm Firewall (a free version is available)
McAfee (anti–virus protection and other products)
Norton Internet Security (anti–virus protection with firewall)
Spybot (finds and removes spyware and adware from your computer; a free program)

Net Filters

In addition to the links below, you may also like to visit GetNetWise Tools for Families for safety solutions and advice:
Cyber Patrol
Cyber Sentinel
CYBERsitter
Net Nanny
SurfControl
Wordwatcher

Other Software

Blogs and Content Management

There are many hundreds of such tools but here are some of the best:
Blosxom runs from an open source Perl script and you will need access to your own CGI–bin in order to upload it
Expression Engine is a superb, modular, web publishing system (it pretends to be a blog but is more like a content management system) — note that you will need PHP and MySQL to be installed on your web account
pMachine is a highly–regarded blogging tool, it is no longer being actively developed but the Pro version is now free! — note that you will need PHP and MySQL to be installed on your web account
Textpattern and WordPress are both excellent, open source, standards–compliant, web publishing tools — note that you will need PHP and MySQL installed on your web account

E–learning

Hot Potatoes is an excellent suite of tools for teachers to create interactive quizzes and exercises
Moodle is a superb modular content management tool for online learning — it is very easy to use and is appropriate for all levels and types of learning
Qarbon Viewlets the ViewletBuilder program provides a simple way for teachers to create online demonstrations using Flash technology (for those students who prefer a visual, ‘show me’, approach to learning)

Essentials

FileZilla a free FTP program for uploading files to the Internet
FTP Voyager for uploading files to the Internet
PSPad a free, full–featured text editor (most web languages supported)
WinZip for compressing and uncompressing files — highly recommended

Graphics

Irfanview includes all you are likely to need for simple photo editing and it’s free!
Inkscape is a free program for scalable vector graphics
Paint Shop Pro is a low cost graphics program particularly suitable for photo editing and vector graphics; an animation program was also included in packages up to version 9 (PSP8 and PSP9 can often be purchased very cheaply)

Newsfeeds and Podcasts

Feed Demon helps you to keep up with all the latest news stories and headlines from your favourite sites. You may also be interested in visiting NewsIsFree, a newsfeed directory
BBC Podcasts introduction to podcasts and links to free software

Office Suites

The following suites are alternatives to and compatible with Microsoft Office:
Ability Office is modestly–priced and includes the following applications: Word Processor, Spreadsheets, Presentations, Database, Graphics and Photo Album
Open Office is free and includes the following applications: Word Processor, Spreadsheets, Drawing, Presentations and Database tools

Personal Organiser/Calendar

Google have a very nice a free online calendar that can be integrated with your Gmail account
Yahoo offers a free online service that integrates e–mail, address book, calendar and notepad facilities

Web Site Design

Home Site is a superb text editor for web site design
HTML–Kit is an excellent free text editor for web site design
NVu: (New View) this is a stand–alone version of Mozilla Composer (which comes with the Mozilla browser) and is a very good, basic, WYSIWYG web site design program
TopStyle Pro is an excellent CSS and (X)HTML editor for web design
TopStyle Lite is a free cut–down version of the CSS editor but may be all you need to create simple style sheets for web pages