Do you like doing jigsaw puzzles? If so try this one. It's free, it's easy to download and run, and if when you finish it you detect an ulterior motive for our generosity, well, we are in business after all.

Download Jigsaw Puzzle

 

---

The best from other websites

There are many free programs available on the internet today and some of them are as good or even better than what you can buy. We are happy to provide you with this list of links to some of what we think are the very best. We endorse each and every program for both quality and usefulness.

 

1. An entire office suite - this impressive freebie includes a word processor, a spreadsheet application, and much more. It can read and create Microsoft Word and Excel files so you can be compatible with other office programs. Why pay hundreds of dollars to write letters, do presentations, and keep your accounts?
   Open Office (50 MB)
2. If you just need a word processor this is a good one. It is easy to use, Microsoft Word compatible, and can also create html documents and Palmdoc (.pdb) files.
   AbiWord
3. CCleaner (Crap Cleaner) is a system optimization tool that removes unused and temporary files from your system, allowing Windows to run more efficiently and giving you more hard disk space. The best part is that it's fast, normally taking just a second or two to run. Glary Utilities is an all-in-one program, it offers numerous powerful and easy-to-use system tools and utilities to fix, speed up, maintain and protect your PC.
   CCleaner
   Glary Utilities
4. A first class antivirus program with email checker from Grisoft, and a tried and true program from Germany called AntiVir. We use both but we are a bit paranoid about virus infections. PcTools and Avast are also full featured, dependable, free antivirus programs. ClamWin is an "open source" anti-virus program.
   AVG Free Edition
   AntiVir
   PcTools
   Avast
   ClamWin
5. Akin to antivirus programs, these programs will help you find and get rid of programs that use your browser to secretly spy on you or to subject you to annoying, unwanted advertising.
   Ad-aware SE Personal
   Spybot S&D
6. Are you sick and tired of getting spam? K9 by KierNet will not eliminate the problem but it can help alleviate it by recognizing and marking and/or deleting the offending email. K9 has the ability, when regularly maintained, to adapt to new forms of spam as they are received by your PC.
   K9 Anti-spam Program
7. For years we used WinZip but why pay for a compression utility if you don't have to. Both PeaZip and ZipGenius are as good as anything else we've tried.
   ZipGenius
   PeaZip
8. A program to safely keep track of all your secret passwords.
   Password Corral
9. This multi-media player can show Windows Media files, Real Audio and Video files, AVI files, MPEG files, and almost all sound and music formats as well. This one player may be all you ever need.
   JetAudio (Basic)
10. The two best small image viewing utilities we have found. FastStone Image Viewer is fast and very easy to use, it will also do basic photo editing. Irfanview will also show animated images and play sound files.
    FastStone
    IrfanView
11. First Page 2000 from Evrsoft is an outstanding HTML editor with virtually every feature you could want. If you prefer light, small and fast give Araneae a try. We think Notepad2 is a definite improvement over Windows' Notepad.
    Notepad2
    Araneae
    First Page 2000

At Project Gutenberg you will find hundreds of free books to download and enjoy. Almost all of the greatest English language authors are represented here as well as some translations from other languages.

Classic literature for free.

ETextViewer, written by Julie Brazier, is an excellent way to read the books you download from Project Gutenberg. This program lets you control your font type and size as well as choose the background colour of your book. It even remembers what book you were reading and opens it to the page you were last on.

FOLDING@HOME:
Is a distributed computing project which studies protein folding, misfolding, aggregation, and related diseases.

WHAT ARE PROTEINS?
Proteins are necklaces of amino acids --- long chain molecules. Proteins are the basis of how biology gets things done. As enzymes, they are the driving force behind all of the biochemical reactions which make biology work. As structural elements, they are the main constituent of our bones, muscles, hair, skin and blood vessels. As antibodies, they recognize invading elements and allow the immune system to get rid of the unwanted invaders. For these reasons, scientists have sequenced the human genome, but how can we understand what these proteins do and how they work?

WHY DO PROTEINS "FOLD"?
Only knowing this sequence tells us little about what the protein does and how it does it. In order to carry out their function (eg as enzymes or antibodies), they must take on a particular shape, also known as a "fold." Thus, proteins are truly amazing machines: before they do their work, they assemble themselves! This self-assembly is called "folding." One of our project goals is to simulate protein folding in order to understand how proteins fold so quickly and reliably, and to learn how to make synthetic polymers with these properties.

PROTEIN FOLDING AND DISEASE:
What happens if proteins don't fold correctly? Diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, cystic fibrosis, BSE (Mad Cow disease), an inherited form of emphysema, and even many cancers are believed to result from protein misfolding. When proteins misfold, they can clump together ("aggregate"). These clumps can often gather in the brain, where they are believed to cause the symptoms of Mad Cow or Alzheimer's disease.

FOLDING@HOME:
Is a free screensaver program that will use your computer to help solve these complex problems when you are not using it. Think about it... without spending any money, and without doing any work, you could help cure several terrible diseases. To download Folding@Home just click on this logo...

http://folding.stanford.edu/

Just for fun we have something to help you let off some steam when your computer becomes a source of stress. This program was written by Miroslav Nemecek and will harmlessly allow you to release your frustrations. Give it a try, it's very therapeutic.

Download Desktop Destroyer

Jim has a new web presence for his homespun cartoons. Hope you like them.

Karen Donnelly has been Principal Trumpet with the National Arts Centre Orchestra since 1996. Previously she was Principal Trumpet with Orchestra London Canada, and has performed with the Montreal Symphony, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra and Les Violons du Roi. She also performs with Capital Brassworks and the Rideau Lakes Brass Quintet. You can obtain her new CD at the Capital Brassworks website. Click on the button below to go there and order it.

Spammers are like badly bahaved children, they want your attention - don't give it to them, and please don't buy anything from them...   unless you want them to keep annoying you.