BRILLIANT FREE STUFF YOU CAN DOWNLOAD
Old versions of programs
Don’t you hate it when your favourite program is ‘improved’ by its developer, only to leave you bamboozled by its new features and wishing it had been left well alone? Skype is a case in point. Its users were up in arms when it was given a major overhaul in 2014, leaving comments like ‘The new version is terrible, I hate it!’ ( www.snipca.com/ 21952). Somebody should have told them about Old Version ( www.oldversion.com), a website that stores previous incarnations of software so users can revert to the one that worked best for them. Use the search bar to find the program you’re looking for and scan through the available versions. It will even highlight in yellow the most popular version of the program with users of the site, which is usually a good place to start (see screenshot left).
The site also hosts old programs that aren’t available anywhere else (such as Google’s discontinued photo service Picasa). One word of warning: we’d suggest you steer clear of old antivirus programs, web browsers and browser plug-ins. The latest version of Avast or Firefox, for example, might be driving you mad, but it will include security fixes that help protect you from hackers.
Completely free ebooks
If you limit yourself to only buying books on the current bestseller lists, ebooks aren’t always that much cheaper to buy than their paper-based counterparts. If, on the other hand, you prefer the classics, there’s a vast library of out-of-copyright titles available for free.
One of the best places to find them is Project Gutenberg ( www.gutenberg.org). The site has over 55,000 free books and
offers them in the Kindle format (for Amazon Kindles) and in the universal epub format (for just about any other ebook reader or non-kindle ebook mobile app). Click ‘Book search’, then Popular to see the most downloaded books (these include Frankenstein and A Tale of Two Cities – see screenshot above), or use the search bar to look for specific titles or authors.
Kindle owners can also get free ebooks from Amazon’s website ( www.snipca.com/21965). Or, if you prefer audiobooks, you can find a huge catalogue of recordings on Librivox ( https://librivox.org).
Games and puzzles
If you’re partial to a challenge, you can enjoy crosswords, Sudoku and solitaire for free online. Puzzle Choice’s website ( www.puzzlechoice.com) might look quite basic, but it’s chock-full of puzzles that you can either play on the site itself, or download and print for free. Click one of the categories on the left to browse the available puzzles.
For card games, try 123 Free Solitaire ( www.snipca.com/21976), which offers 12 variations of the classic solitaire game. Scroll down to the 123 Free Solitaire section, click the Free Download button and run the installer (it’s compatible with all Windows versions from Vista onwards).
Desktop themes
Changing your theme is a great way of injecting a bit of life into your Windows desktop. Microsoft provides a comprehensive selection of free themes at www.snipca.com/21970. Pick a category from the list on the left, then click the Download link on any theme that interests you (see screenshot right). To apply it to Windows, simply doubleclick the downloaded file. Most of these are designed for Windows 8 and 10, but Windows 7 users can click the ‘Compatible with Windows 7’ category to see themes designed for that operating system.
Download product manuals
If you’ve ever been forced to turn your house upside-down to find a missing manual, you’ll be pleased to know a website exists that stores over 2 million digital manuals for all kinds of devices. Manualslib ( www.manualslib.com) covers everything from TVS to toasters. To find a manual, type the device name (you’ll usually find this on the back or base of the product) into the search box and click Search.
Microsoft Office templates
To design eye-catching Office documents you need access to the best templates. Try the free templates at Hloom ( www. snipca.com/21968), which will help you produce professional-looking flyers, invoices, CVS and invitations. To download the template you want, choose a category and click the link in the Filename section (it will be in a .doc or .docx Word format – see screenshot on next page). Excel Templates ( www. exceltemplates.net) is a similar resource for Excel and features calendar, budgeting and scheduling templates.