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 1ST
CHOICE
Download.com
Our first choice of
software download index is
Download.com. It is a vast and well-organized
index, and provides a quick way to find what you are looking for in the world of freeware, shareware and trial version software.
Their search function makes locating the software you are interested in an easy task because their search algorithm will
quickly return any software related to your key words.
You can then filter these results by operating system, licence (freeware, shareware etc), file size and category.
Their results show user ratings and user reviews, along with the popularity (by downloads) of the program. That way you get an indication of how popular and how well liked each program is. Gone are the days of downloading a number of programs just to find that one you really want.
Popular programs are identified as "pop", and
the editor's "picks" for each category are highlighted too, so you get a good indication of which programs are likely to be the most worthwhile before you try them.
Program reviews are informative and provide a good overview of the software, with links to the publishers web site and other related info, as well as the download link itself. They also provide details of the file size, licence and the cost in the case of trial version software.
As well as general software, download.com also has sections devoted to IT, the software developer, the Web developer, business, personal tech, and mobile applications.
And being a Cnet site, it is designed for optimum usability and speed.
TOP CHOICE
ZDNet Downloads
ZDNet Downloads
offers an index of downloads in a similar format to Downloads.com, which is perhaps not surprising since both sites are part of the Cnet network.
Results of searches can be a little bit different, however, to the results at Download.com, so if you don't find what you're looking for on one, a search on the other can still be quite useful.
They also offer the same useful features of Download.com like filtering by operating system, licence and file size.
Really, the choice between these two sites is likely to come down to your own personal preference, because they are both excellent software downloads indexes.
TOP CHOICE
Tucows
Tucows has for some time
been a top destination for reference and information on software downloads.
Their substantial index of over 30,000 titles and reviews is well organised in a software library which can be either browsed or searched.
Software is reviewed in house and rated by their unique cows system, with a 5 cow rating being the best. Look out for their "Head of the Herd" and "Pick of the Pasture"
recommendations too.
The Tucows software library is mirrored around the world, which means no matter where you are, the resulting download will be local and therefore as fast as possible.
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