FREE Great Programs for Windows 7

I apologize if it has already been recommended but it wasn't on the first page and didn't turn up in a quick search.

Input Director is a free Windows application I can't live without. Input Director lets you control multiple Windows systems using the keyboard/mouse attached to one master computer. Basically it is a software based KVM switch.

Both at work and my home office I have between 3-6 monitors (various quite a bit as I play with different systems), Input Director saves me 1- clutter of having multiple keyboards\mouse; 2- time having to switch between different hardware; 3- money; 4- resources on my primary system. I basically dedicate 1 system to my core "office" applications (e-mail, work IM, monitoring software). This keeps my development system clean of extra apps and fast but with Input Director it acts like it is just another monitor.

Synergy is an alternative that is cross-platform and also free but development was halted years ago and does not work well in Vista or higher without disabling too many things.

Thank you Mikinho. Added. :)

Mikonho What is the benefit over running headless systems with remote control apps? is it performance, 3d rendering or...? Just curious. Since this is software based, you wouldn't be able to use it until Windows is booted. I have a few headless machines here that I just remote in to with VNC, LogMeIn, RDP.

ohhhhhhh you can seamlessly transition to the next desktop, like one big huge seamless monitor? nice!

7echno7im said:

ohhhhhhh you can seamlessly transition to the next desktop, like one big huge seamless monitor? nice!

Exactly. Not as seamless as having 3x cards, each running 2 monitors, since you can't drag applications to any of the remote systems but in other ways nicer in that I keep each system "cleaner". The only real annoyance I had at first was getting used to the hot-keys for swapping systems instead of using alt-tab.

I wasn't sure if anyone caught this one yet. But Corel is now seeing a free version of MediaOne Standard edition an image/photo editor available.



Corel & Lexar Special Partner Offer

As an IT professional that do a lot of on and off site work, I like portability. Here is sweet app with a ton of apps included that you can run from a flash drive. I actully have a folder that I run them from on my desktop as well. LiberKey - Home
LiberKey, what is it ? LiberKey groups a lot of free software. True "swiss army knife", it offers local and/or portable use.

• Local use (directly installed in a hard disk directory)
  Why install more than 200 software if they are available in one step via LiberKey ?
  Best Open Source or Freeware have been selected in order to match most practical needs (OpenOffice, FireFox, Filezilla, Gimp, Videolan,...). They have been grouped under categories in order to facilitate the search and the execution of the desired software.
  
• Portable use (installed on USB key, external hard drive, music player such as iPod, ...)
  It is possible because these software have been made portable. For example, LiberKey installed on your portable device can be plugged in any computer.
  Immediately you have under hand all your familiar tools.
• How ? By a simple click on LiberKey icon

Thank you Mickey. Added. :)