This program works backward from output to data, converting graphed data to individual data points that you can use in various data-based programs.

Engauge Digitizer is an open-source program designed to convert charts or maps provided as images into numeric data which can be exported as CSV and manipulated using Excel or other programs...
Manual digitization, as the name implies, involves going over a chart and manually placing enough points on it as to eventually have an adequate representation of it. In this scenario you need not worry so much about removing unwanted information from the image since you placing the points yourself anyway.
Automatic digitization is an option whereby the program will automatically hone in on a graph (or large segments of a graph), or you can outline a point on the graph and ask Engauge to hone in on all points that look like it. For the program to do these things correctly you need to eliminate all visual data that is not part of the graph or chart you are after. You can do this by using Engauge’s own filters, of which 2 (descretize and grid removal) are available. (You can also do a lot of cleaning up externally using an image editing program)...

http://www.freewareg...8/engauge-digitizer/

I've got to get this off my mind. I love software. Software makes the system, to me; hardware always takes a backseat. But as overall software prices have risen over the past three years, some vendors seem to gone out of their way to raise prices.
...
More and more I'm looking for and donating money and feedback to open source and donationware programs where I can find them. I'm just sick of companies like Microsoft and Adobe who all but say: If you want to use our software, you'll tolerate whatever we require you to do, or we'll invalidate your license key.

All your old favorite arcade games on one site, playable online.

The section "arcade" on this site offers you the chance to play the great 80's classics. These old arcade games are gaining a new lease of life thanks to an emulator that restores them to how they were upon their release.

http://www.1980-games.com/us/

introducing filehippo's update checker... looks quite neat.

The Update Checker will scan your computer for installed software, check the versions and then send this information to filehippo.com to see if there are any newer releases. The results are then displayed in the browser for you to download.

here's the privacy policy:

The Update Checker will not send any personal information back to filehippo.com. The only information collected is a list of programs and their versions, along with the operating system details to help with processing. Additionally none of this is linked to your IP address and the logs are deleted after processing.

Here's the latest essay from the website Publishing 2.0. on the web2.0 hype and the problems inherent with such a fast moving hyper-distributing content driven system..  I tend to agree with his points (see my post on how digg gets everything backwards)..

In an open Web 2.0 system, with a randomly chosen group, it’s impossible to generate anything other than arbitrary results. Web 2.0 glorifies the “social,” but in an open system, social behavior becomes “monkey see, monkey do.”

All of a sudden it’s crystal clear what Web 2.0 really is — the greatest platform ever for harnessing randomly imitative social behavior. Before Web 2.0, achieving utterly arbitrary results took time and effort. Now, with platforms like Digg, we can get nowhere in a fraction of the time it used to take.

http://publishing2.c...gg-and-so-much-more/

Infra Recorder is a free CD burning solution for Microsoft Windows.

I have fond memories of Nero, which came with the first CD-RW drive that I bought years back. However over the years, I became disenchanted with Nero, the bundle-ware and began actively looking for a light-weight alternative. On such a journey, I discovered Infra Recorder - which I didn't know much about except that it uses cdrtools and the programmer is also involved with TugZip. However I was pleasantly surprised with the program's simple interface, and even more with the easiness of use.

Like most of the burners, InfraRecorder can work with audio, data and mixed-mode CDs. This program is also able to handle disc images (CUE, ISO) and RAW images, supports on-the-fly recording, erase rewritable discs and save audio and data tracks to files. Full list of features can be found at the website.