WavePad — Audio Editing for Mac, Windows and Linux

NCH Software LogoWavePad is a free sound editor that will also allow you to rip CDs and create MP3s. The tool has many features but can also be easily used by the casual user for light chores like creating a ring tone from a full song MP3 file, editing songs to use as background for a business presentation or a home video. WavePad is also a great way to record and edit voice -- you can use it to narrate voice overs or send recordings via email. WavePad is available for Mac, Windows and Linux. You can purchase the WavePad Master's Edition if you need more capabilities, but you're going find free edition more than powerful enough for most users. WavePad Screen Shot WavePad [via lifehacker]

Extract Your Zip Files with PeaZip

peazip-free-archiver-utility.png Need a way to extract files from multiple kinds of archives -- like something.zip and somethingelse.rar? Want to be able to compress files to save storage or to email easily? Use PeaZip, it's free, open source extracts from multiple types of archives and has a bright and easy to use interface. PeaZip is only for Windows and Linux but a great way to satisfy your file extracting and archiving needs. peazip.jpg Download PeaZip [Via lifehacker]

Optimize Your PC and Keep it Safe with Glary Utilities

Due to the nature of Windows, the harder you use your PC, the slower and more troublesome Windows tends to become. Especially as you install and uninstall programs and visit web sites -- things collect in your operating system that makes it less efficient and likely dangerous and insecure. You need some kind of software to keep your PC in tip-top shape. Norton Tuneup is a popular commercial product that performs these kinds of clean ups. The good news is Glary Utilities does a great job and is free. Glary Utilities provides all the cleanup functions for which you would normally pay. After downloading and installing Glary Utilities on your PC, you can perform a slew of fixes to your Windows computer. When you choose the Scan for Issues button on the 1-Click-Maintenance Tab, you can, all at once, run the Registration Cleaner -- the Windows Registry is  where Windows stores all of its important settings and a hotbed source of potential problems, the Shortcut Fixer (it finds and removes pointers to file that are no longer valid), the Startup Manger (looks for programs that your PC automatically runs at startup that may either not be necessary or actually sinister), the Temporary File Cleaner (your disk space is used up by unnecessary files that were created or downloaded for one-time use), the Tracks Eraser (for the paranoid, cleans up behind you, the trail of your internet surfing habits) and the Spyware Remover (dangerous files that you may pick up from websites that track your computer use habits and compromise your privacy). You can uncheck any of those fixes that you don't feel you need and then let it rip. When you're finished you have a more secure, more private and optimized computer. The fixes also can be used individually with more advanced settings. There is, a for-pay version -- of course, that for  $39.99  offers enhanced utilities, support and can be used commercially. Luckily, the free version has plenty of functionality for your home PC. Download Glary Utilities

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.