Features

The web's best 50 free downloads

20071016 [PC Pro]

Art & Design

1. Paint.NET
www.getpaint.net
Size: 1.3MB

Anyone who's interested in digital imaging but doesn't want to shell out for Photoshop (or even Photoshop Elements) could do a lot worse than download this sparkling gem.

Paint.NET started life as a Microsoft project to replace the woefully underpowered Paint application that's bundled with Windows, and is now being lovingly maintained by former project members. It's updated regularly with bug fixes and new features, although it already offers almost everything you'd expect to find in paid-for rivals - and then some. Aside from its image-creation talents, it will also prove invaluable for photographers, with control over curves, hue and saturation, as well as both manual and auto-level adjustment. There's full support for layers, plus a generous selection of artistic effects to add fizz to lifeless photos. Like Photoshop, extra features (such as the ability to import RAW files) can be introduced with a dazzling library of free plug-ins, and there's also a huge selection of online tutorials to dive into. For us, it just holds the edge over The GIMP (www.gimp.org).

2. Google SketchUp
http://sketchup.google.com
Size: 31.7MB

After SketchUp's original developers added the ability to produce 3D buildings for Google Earth, Google bought the company, improved it further and then - amazingly - made it free. While there's still a paid-for version, the free edition would be superb even if it cost hundreds. It's all you need to model and render complex objects, as well as simpler items such as text. It's blissfully easy to use (and comes with excellent getting started tips), and you can even model and texture your own house with photography and put it onto Google Earth. An essential app for the budding architect or designer in all of us.

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