Freeware 1

Freeware – is there such a thing as a free lunch?

Just when you thought you had worked out the difference between Software and Hardware, along comes a few more names; Shareware, Freeware, Tupperware etc., So what is the difference between Software, Shareware and Freeware? Software is the generic term for applications that run on your computer. Shareware is generally software that hasn’t been taken up by the major software houses or maybe it’s a small item that the author has decided to market himself. Shareware is free for you to try out, if you like it and want to continue using it then you are asked to pay a small fee. The author relies on people’s honesty to pay the small asking price. Freeware is software that’s made available without condition for you to use. However, quite often it can also be a cut down version of a full priced application. Software companies hope you might be frustrated enough with the limitations to purchase the full blown package. I have downloaded a few items that you might find interesting.

DCEnhance. http://www.mediachance.com/ 7/10

Digital Camera Enhance is an application that auto corrects most digital camera pictures. There are five controls; Auto Balance, Colour, Midtones, Enhance Details and De Noiser. The controls are basic and most imaging applications offer the same, although the De Noiser worked very well. Results from a selection of my test images were very good indeed. The full version of DCE Auto Enhance can be purchased for $35. The freeware version is a useful but limited application which I am sure will end up in the trash can quite quickly.

Easy JPEG Printer 1.7 http://www.jgraff.addr.com 5/10

This is an application for printing JPEG picture files. There is a choice of 3 print sizes 3x5, 6x4, and 10x8. This will give you either 4 , 2 or 1 image per A4 sheet. Click on the select button and browse to your images folder, a preview of the image appears on the right (you can also click the small page icon and see a 100% display). The image you select automatically appears in the right pane, you can add captions and date. The images do not make the best use of the paper area, as you can see in the 3x5 layout screen shot. This application is very basic, especially when you compare it to Epson’s PhotoQuicker and Canon’s Easy Photo Print applications which are supplied free with their printers.

Easy Thumbnails v2.53 http://www.fookes.com/ezthumbs 8/10

Creating small preview images for use in a web page can be a tedious task, but not so with Easy Thumbnails. Select a picture for converting and under the Settings tab set the maximum image dimensions you want, compression, brightness, contrast, sharpness and rotation. There is a selection of nine Algorithm’s you can apply (algorithms determines how pixels in a picture are affected when it is resized). Generally, either the Smart or “Lanczos3” will give the best results. You can see a live preview of the thumbnail in the right window, watch how the image changes as you apply more compression, adjust the tonality or use a different algorithm.

Single images or whole folders can be turned into thumbnails at the click of a button. Using a folder of 134 3 megapixel images to produce 200 x 200 pixel thumbnails, took 5min 50sec. The thumbnails can be written to any folder you select or define. There is also an option to create thumbnails straight from Windows Explorer by right clicking on an image and selecting Make Thumbnail. This applies the last used settings to the image, most popular file formats are supported. This is a truly useful piece of software - find the time to download it.