Seventy completely free apps to
make you more (or less) efficient
THE
BEST FREE
SOFTWARE
OF 2020
WE KNOWWHAT you’re thinking: Nobody
actually wants a PC full to the brim with
software. A guide to free software is one
of those PC magazine tropes, and here’s
Maximum PC reaching into the well again.
But wait, reader. Cool your jets and think
about it. If you’re looking at this guide and
presuming that we’re saying you have to
install every little thing we’ve mentioned,
you’re doing it wrong.
This isn’t about what you should have,
it’s about what you could have—software
that could change the way you create, the
way you work, and the way you manage
your PC. It’s about doing things better
without breaking the bank. It’s about
software that actually deserves a place
on your SSD, stuff that’s so useful and
well constructed that it’s transcended the
stigma that comes with the word “free.”
The world of free software has changed
significantly, because what we expect
from software has changed. We have
phones to thank for a lot of this—appstores have made free the default. The
ever-increasing power and prominence of
the web browser is another gift, because
perfectly capable tools can be cooked up
from JavaScript and HTML5. And the open-
source community goes from strength to
strength, with publishing, programming,
and collaborative tools improving daily.
That said, there are some things we’ve
sidestepped. Some software should be
paid for, or it’s made irrelevant by core
Windows features. Antivirus is a strong
example—either you rely on Windows’
own tool, which is (or at least, has become)
very credible indeed, or you stump up for
a full version of a proper package, with
the up-to-the-minute updates that come
with it. A free VPN is a great idea until
you realize that if you’re routing your
traffic through someone’s servers and not
paying them a single cent, they might have
something else to gain from the whole
thing. That’s right, we’re as cynical as you.
But, darn it, we just love free software.BY ALEX COX
FREE
SOFTWARE
2020
maximumpc.com MAY 2020 MAXIMUM PC 33