*** DOWNLOAD.CO.UK ***
The United Kingdom's Premier Software Download Destination!
Shareware * Freeware * Demos * Utilities * Games * Internet Tools
|
You are visitor number:
#00 1 4 7 , 3 8 2
|
Last updated: 14 November 1997
by Kevin
Best viewed in Netscape Navigator 4.0
at 800x600 256 colours
|
Welcome to Download.co.uk!
Britain's biggest free software library is right here. Whether you are on a 14.4, 28.8 or one of those fancy new 56k modems, we have got something for you. Every single file on this site has been downloaded by Kevin and checked with Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit 7.5 before being added to our archive. You can browse with confidence!
We add new files every single day so bookmark this page now (press CTRL+D in Netscape) and come back often. If you have a file you think we should add, click the guestbook link and leave us a message.
PLEASE NOTE: Download times shown are for a 28.8k modem. If you are still on 14.4 you will need to double them. Sorry about that but you really should upgrade!
|
*** UNDER CONSTRUCTION ***
The Games and Screen Savers sections are currently being rebuilt with a brand new layout!
Kevin is working very hard on this so please bear with us. Should be done by Christmas.
(Sorry about the mess!)
|
*** NEW THIS WEEK ***
Added 14 November 1997 -- All files checked clean!
|
| File Name |
Category |
Size |
DL Time* |
Rating |
ICQ 97b (Build 1414)
Mirabilis chat program. Everyone
is using this! Get it NOW. |
Internet |
2.1 MB |
~10 mins |
* * * * * |
WinZip 6.3 for Win95/NT
The essential archive manager.
30-day shareware trial. |
Utilities |
497 KB |
~2.5 mins |
* * * * * |
mIRC 5.3
Best IRC client for Windows.
Get on the chat channels! |
Internet |
812 KB |
~4 mins |
* * * * * |
Paint Shop Pro 4.12
The Photoshop alternative for
the rest of us. Cracking program. |
Graphics |
3.2 MB |
~15 mins |
* * * * * |
Quake Shareware v1.09 Patch
Essential update for id's classic.
Fixes multiplayer crashes. |
Games |
1.8 MB |
~8 mins |
* * * * * |
CuteFTP 2.0 for Windows
The nicest FTP client going.
Shareware - 30 day trial. |
Internet |
644 KB |
~3 mins |
* * * * * |
TextPad 3.2
Brilliant Notepad replacement.
Syntax highlighting and macros. |
Utilities |
1.1 MB |
~5 mins |
* * * * * |
Real Player G2 (Beta)
Stream audio and video over
your connection. Very clever. |
Multimedia |
2.7 MB |
~13 mins |
* * * * |
* Download times estimated at 28.8k modem. Actual times will vary depending on your ISP and time of day. Evenings and weekends can be much slower.
*** THIS WEEK'S TOP 10 DOWNLOADS ***
Based on download counts for the 7 days ending 14 November 1997
| Pos. |
File |
Category |
Downloads |
Trend |
| 1 |
ICQ 97b |
Internet |
8,312 |
++ NEW ENTRY |
| 2 |
Netscape Navigator 4.03 |
Internet |
7,104 |
(-) no change |
| 3 |
WinZip 6.3 |
Utilities |
6,891 |
(1) up 1 |
| 4 |
mIRC 5.3 |
Internet |
5,447 |
(2) up 2 |
| 5 |
Doom II Shareware |
Games |
4,223 |
(-) no change |
| 6 |
Paint Shop Pro 4.12 |
Graphics |
3,917 |
++ NEW ENTRY |
| 7 |
Winamp 1.6 |
Multimedia |
3,644 |
(3) up 3 |
| 8 |
Internet Explorer 4.0 |
Internet |
2,981 |
(3) down 3 |
| 9 |
ACDSee 2.1 |
Graphics |
2,754 |
(-) no change |
| 10 |
FlashFXP (FTP Client) |
Internet |
2,201 |
++ NEW ENTRY |
*** KEVIN'S PICK OF THE WEEK ***
This week I am going absolutely mad for Winamp 1.6. I know it has been around for a bit but the new version is something else. You get this brilliant little player that sits on your desktop, plays your MP3 files, and has got proper skins so you can make it look however you want. I have got mine looking like a proper hi-fi unit.
The sound quality through my Creative AWE64 is absolutely stonking. I have been downloading MP3s off Usenet all week and it plays the lot without any bother. Files are about 3-4 MB per song at 128kbps so you will want a bit of patience on a 28.8, but crikey it is worth it.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Size: 620 KB | Win95/NT | Freeware
|
*** BROWSE BY CATEGORY ***
3,247 files and counting. New files added daily!
| INTERNET TOOLS |
- Web Browsers (14 files)
- FTP Clients (23 files)
- IRC Clients (18 files)
- Email & Newsreaders (31 files)
- HTML Editors (27 files)
- Dial-Up Tools (19 files)
- Telnet Clients (9 files)
- Web Utilities (44 files)
|
| 185 files total |
|
| GAMES & ENTERTAINMENT |
- Action / Shoot-Em-Up (88 files)
- Strategy (61 files)
- Puzzle & Board (74 files)
- Sports (29 files)
- Card Games (37 files)
- Demos & Patches (112 files)
- Screen Savers (*REBUILDING*)
- Miscellaneous (19 files)
|
| 420 files total |
|
| UTILITIES |
- File Compression (28 files)
- Anti-Virus (16 files)
- Disk & File Tools (54 files)
- System Info & Tweakers (41 files)
- Backup Software (22 files)
- Text Editors (19 files)
- Desktop Enhancements (63 files)
- Registry Tools (17 files)
|
| 260 files total |
|
| GRAPHICS & MULTIMEDIA |
- Image Viewers & Editors (47 files)
- MP3 Players (11 files)
- CD Players & Rippers (23 files)
- Media Players (18 files)
- Font Collections (34 files)
- Clip Art Packs (29 files)
- MIDI & MOD Players (16 files)
- Video Tools (14 files)
|
| 192 files total |
|
| BUSINESS & FINANCE |
- Word Processing (21 files)
- Spreadsheets (14 files)
- Databases (31 files)
- Accounts & Finance (27 files)
- Contact Managers (18 files)
- Personal Organisers (24 files)
- Project Management (11 files)
- Misc. Business (39 files)
|
| 185 files total |
|
| DOS & MISC. |
- DOS Programs (88 files)
- Windows 3.1 (41 files)
- Programming Tools (67 files)
- Drivers (Windows 95) (53 files)
- Drivers (Windows NT) (29 files)
- Fonts (Windows) (71 files)
- Clip Art (83 files)
- Misc. (114 files)
|
| 546 files total |
|
*** DOWNLOAD TIPS FROM KEVIN ***
Getting the best out of your downloads
1. Try to download late at night
The internet gets very busy in the evenings, especially between 6pm and 11pm. If you can, try downloading after midnight or first thing in the morning before 9am. You will notice a big difference in speed. I usually leave big downloads running overnight with GetRight (see below).
2. Get yourself a download manager
GetRight 3.2 is an absolute lifesaver. It sits in your system tray and can automatically resume interrupted downloads. There is nothing worse than being 3.8 MB into a 4 MB file and having your connection drop. GetRight sorts all that out. It is shareware and well worth the registration fee.
3. Always virus check your downloads
Yes, I check everything before it goes on the site. But please do your own check too with Dr Solomon's, McAfee or Norton. Better safe than sorry. This goes double for anything you pick up from other sites, Usenet, or off a mate's floppy.
4. What to do with ZIP files
Most of our files come in .ZIP format. You will need WinZip to open them (it is in our Top 10 and free to try). Some files are self-extracting .EXE archives - you just double-click them and they sort themselves out. A few very old DOS files use ARJ or LZH format - WinZip handles those too.
5. Broadband is coming... eventually
BT have announced that ADSL is coming to the UK but frankly I will believe it when I see it. In the meantime, if you are still on 14.4k, it is really worth upgrading to a 33.6k or even a 56k modem. US Robotics do a brilliant 56k Sportster for about 130 quid. Life is too short for 14.4.
|
| FEATURED FILE OF THE MONTH |
+---------------------------------------+
| WINAMP 1.6 - FREE MP3 PLAYER |
| Nullsoft Inc. | Freeware |
| Size: 620 KB | Win95/NT |
| Downloaded: 47,221 times |
+---------------------------------------+
Right then. If you have not heard about MP3 yet you are about to have your mind well and truly blown. MP3 is a compressed audio format that squashes music files down to roughly one tenth of their normal size while keeping the quality so good that most people genuinely cannot tell the difference on normal speakers.
A typical pop song on a normal audio CD takes up about 40 megabytes. The same song as an MP3 file at 128 kilobits per second takes up around 3.5 megabytes. That is still a hefty download on a 28.8 modem (about 17 minutes if you are lucky) but it is the future of music distribution. There is a lot of chatter on the newsgroups about whether the record labels are going to try and ban it but I can't see how they would manage it.
Winamp plays your MP3 files with brilliant quality, has a proper equaliser, supports playlists, and you can download "skins" to completely change how it looks. My current favourite skin makes it look like a Technics deck. Class.
Also supports: WAV, MIDI, MOD, XM, S3M, IT tracker music files.
Kevin says: "Get this. Seriously. Stop reading this and go and download it right now. I am not joking."
|
*** QUICK FILE SEARCH ***
NOTE: Search is temporarily out of order!
Kevin is rewriting the search scripts from scratch after the old ones started playing up something rotten last Tuesday. In the meantime, please use the category browser above to find what you are looking for.
Sorry about this! Should be fixed by next weekend.
(If you know CGI/Perl and want to help, leave a message in the guestbook - would be very much appreciated!)
|
| MIRROR SITES |
If you are finding the main site slow (especially in the evenings!) try one of our mirror sites. These are exact copies of the whole archive hosted by kind volunteers:
UK Mirror 1 - Hosted by Demon Internet - Usually very fast
UK Mirror 2 - University of Bath - Fast but sometimes busy with students
US Mirror 1 - Somewhere in Texas apparently - Fast but the latency adds up
Big thanks to all our mirror operators! If you can offer mirror hosting, please leave a note in the guestbook.
|
*** LINKS ***
Other useful places on the web - all Kevin-approved!
Essential Software Sites:
> TUCOWS - The Ultimate Collection of Winsock Software. Enormous. American but very good.
> Shareware.com - CNET's download section. Massive library.
> WinFiles.com - Good Windows-specific archive. Well organised.
> SimTel - The oldest software archive on the internet. Millions of files.
Internet Browsers:
> Netscape Navigator 4.03 - The proper browser. This is what the internet was designed for.
> Internet Explorer 4.0 - Microsoft's effort. Not bad I suppose but it installs itself everywhere.
> Opera 3.2 - The tiny Norwegian browser. Fast but a bit odd. Worth a look.
UK Internet & Computing:
> Demon Internet - Kevin's ISP and highly recommended. Proper flat-rate access.
> Yahoo! UK - Best place to start if you are new to the web.
> PC Magazine UK - Good reviews. Slightly obsessed with benchmarks.
> ZDNet UK - Decent tech news. Updates quite regularly.
Search Engines (in order of usefulness):
> AltaVista - Still the best in Kevin's opinion. Indexes everything.
> HotBot - Very fast. Good for finding recent stuff.
> Google - NEW - Some Stanford students made this. Interesting idea, a bit basic looking.
> Lycos - Bit rubbish lately but still worth a go.
> Excite UK - Good for news and stuff. Search is average.
If you would like your site linking from here, leave a message in the guestbook. We only link to quality sites!
|
*** SIGN THE GUESTBOOK! ***
We have had over 2,847 entries in the guestbook since we launched in March 1996!
Please sign and let Kevin know where you are from and what you think of the site.
It makes all the hard work worthwhile reading your messages, honest it does.
Recent message from Stuart, Sheffield: "Top site mate! Got WinZip and ICQ from here this week, both worked a treat. Keep it up!"
Recent message from Anon, London: "Why is the search broken? Need to find a specific driver. Please fix!!!"
[Kevin's reply: Working on it! Sorry!]
|
+===========================================================================+
| DOWNLOAD.CO.UK | Est. March 1996 | Updated: 14 November 1997 |
| 3,247 files available | Last updated by Kevin | Hosting: Demon.net |
+===========================================================================+
Last updated: 14 November 1997 by Kevin
Best viewed in Netscape Navigator 4.0 at 800x600 resolution
This site has been online since March 1996
|
This is a PARODY page generated by ukco.uk. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the real brand. No copyright is claimed.
|
|