The Web's Best Free Downloads No 34 - SyncBack

This deceptively powerful little app is a fuss-free backup manager. Simply point the software at the files you wish to back up, set the destination drive and SyncBack does the rest. Handily, the software runs a simulation of the backup first, so you don't spend half-an-hour backing up your C drive only for it to choke on a troublesome file near the end. The scheduler can be set to wake your PC for out-of-hours backups, and there's a bevy of advanced options to perform backups to an FTP server, compress documents into Zip folder or close certain apps before running.

The Web's Best Free Downloads No 33 - AbiWord

AbiWord is billed as "word processing for everyone", and with versions for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux it pretty much has the whole computing gamut covered. As you might expert from a word processor that arrives in a mere 5MB download, there's no great sophistication here: its basic feature set is roughly comparable to Google Docs & Spreadsheets, but without any of the online service's grating delays or awkward interface. The streamlined feature set and large icons make it a great choice for the kids' computer, and it writes to virtually all the major document formats (including DOC, RTF and ODT), so compatibility won't be an issue. A DOCX converter is on the way.

The Web's Best Free Downloads No 32 - Feedreader

With the burgeoning popularity of RSS feeds, a host of readers have popped up to satisfy our inner news junkie, and Feedreader is among the best. This latest version supports all major syndication formats and is packed with preloaded feeds for those still searching for their own favourites. The user interface is sparse, which may not be to everyone's taste, but it's highly configurable, quick and simple to use, which makes handling multiple feeds a doddle. All in all, Feedreader is good news.

The Web's Best Free Downloads No 31 - Google SketchUp

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.

The Web's Best Free Downloads No 30 - ScummVM

If you've ever felt the urge to revisit a classic adventure, you need ScummVM, a Windows-based virtual machine that can run a wide range of old LucasArts games based on the Scumm scripting language, including Maniac Mansion, Day of the Tentacle and the Secret of Monkey Island. You still need data files from the original game, but ScummVM handles everything else, leaving you free to concentrate on vanquishing the evil pirate, LeChuck.

The Web's Best Free Downloads No 29 - Rockbox

Ever wished your portable MP3 player knew a few more tricks? Rockbox is a complete firmware replacement for a range of MP3 player, including Archos, iriver and Apple products. It supports all the playback features you'd hope for, and lets you manage files and playlists on the move. Extra treats include bookmarks, gapless playback, real-time MP3 encoding (for devices with microphones), OGG and FLAC support, and a five-band EQ.

The Web's Best Free Downloads No 28 - Audiograbber

Audiograbber's interface may seem a little unpolished compared to the audio ripper built into Windows Media Player, but it's a far more powerful package, letting you configure every aspect of the ripping and encoding process. It can normalise the volume of ripped tracks before encoding them, take tracks from a folder instead of a disc, and use a free online CD database to identify inserted CDs and automatically tag MP3s accordingly.

The Web's Best Free Downloads No 27 - IsoBuster

IsoBuster is a handy tool for extracting files from CD, DVD or Blu-ray disc image without needing to burn it to a disc. It supports a huge range of formats, including ISO, BIN/CUE pairs, Nero images and even Apple DMG files. In addition, you can use it to explore the structure of physical disc and attempt data recovery from damaged media. The free version has limited UDF support, but is otherwise fully usable.