Pocket Accessible Software

See the mainstream software page for the most widely used downloaded software such as RealPlayer or Adobe reader. This page covers more specialised or niche tools, or items which extend mainstream functionality to the freeware/shareware user.

If you have a Windows XP system, Google Pack includes several Google tools and commonly used software products, and will keep them up to date (28 Jan 2006)

This page has been checked through, and quite extensively pruned. Google is very good at finding things – add free download or shareware to your search. I'm not a regular Linux user so the Linux stuff is only discovered by seredipity.

Availability key:   Mac ⊕ (!! for Classic only)   Windows ⊗ (!! for DOS)   Linux ◎

Browsers and Web stuff

Firefox from Mozilla; if this link does not work then go via Mozilla.org (8 Apr 2006)
Netscape find your way through the portal stuff to Downloads (8 Apr 2006)
For proprietary browsers e.g. Internet Explorer or Apple Safari, visit the vendors' sites

Desktop, office and database

OpenOffice office suite (*2 Mar 2007)
  SQLite SQL database, public domain (not even GPL) (3 Sep 2007)
MySQL (22 May 2008)
  PostgreSQL successor to Ingres, now open source (22 May 2008)
!! Ghostscript and Ghostview postscript interpreter and viewer. This is the University of Wisconsin site which is simpler and clearer for downloads. Source code available (*2 Mar 2007)
Windows GREP search utility (28 Jan 2006)

Disk and File

StuffIt reads and writes all common formats. Free Stuffit Expander(*28 Jan 2006)
MacZipIt ZIP format (*28 Jan 2006)
WinZip Zip for Windows (*28 Jan 2006)

Network and email

Fetch FTP for Mac (2 Mar 2007)
FTP Explorer (*28 Jan 2006)
!! Kermit also offers FTP, Telnet and other stuff (*2 Mar 2007)
!! MS-Kermit 3.16 last free DOS kermit (*28 Jan 2006)
!! MacSSH Telnet for Mac up to OS9 - for OS X use Terminal (*2 Mar 2007)
Eudora mail and Internet software and technical support from Qualcomm (*28 Jan 2006)

General Open Source projects

information about projects, rather than links to the software
SourceForge home of many projects (*2 Mar 2007)

General download sites

Pure Mac (2 Mar 2007)
MacUpdate (*2 Mar 2007)
ASP Software Downloads (Association of Shareware Professionals). Members' software and vendor links (*2 Mar 2007)
Fresh Freeware/Shareware archive (*2 Mar 2007)
Microsoft Download Center (*2 Mar 2007)
Info-Mac HyperArchive mirror site; the parent site intends to cease operating (*2 Mar 2007)
Sunsite Northern Europe at Imperial College, London: UK file archive, HTTP or FTP interfaces, listed by name only (*28 Jan 2006)
TUCOWS originally The Ultimate Collection Of Windows Software, now includes Mac and Linux (*2 Mar 2007)
SixFiles (22 May 2008)
Tech Republic (*2 Mar 2007)