DownloadsWelcome to the NWIC Virtual Library Download page. There are many places on the Web where you can find free programs, especially tools to enhance the performance of your browsers. Here are links to browsers, programs to enhance the media capabilities of your computer, and a shareware library. If you are unfamiliar with downloading programs, be sure that you have some time; downloading can be very slow. Try to connect with the fastest connection speed you can manage; it will speed up the process. If you have an older machine, you may want to browse the web page before installing: many sites give technical requirements for running the program.
Because companies like to redesign their web pages, links to downloads for specific programs are often unreliable. To avoid a page full of dead links, we have chosen to direct you to the main page for each company. On the main page, look for a link called downloads, then look for the specific program you want. If a site looks fairly stable, we direct you as close to the download page as looks safe. All of the programs listed here are free at this time (Spring 2001), although some are short-term trials. If there is a price tag, it's not the program we're recommending!
BrowsersMedia Players
Netscape Downloads While the most important programs here are the Netscape web browsers (Netscape, Netscape Communicator, and Netscape Navigator), there is also a library of shareware you may want to examine, and an archive of old Netscape browsers. I'm not too happy with Netscape 6, myself, and prefer to stick to older formats, but you may have different experiences.
Microsoft Explorer Another web browser. I use both Netscape and Explorer because some pages look better in one or the other. Occasionally, a page that won't load at all in Explorer will load fine in Netscape. You'll need to use the search engine to find the version that matches your machine.
Trial Programs (Good stuff, but you'll need to buy them if you like them)
Acrobat Reader Allows you to read PDF files, a popular encoding method for converting paper data to electronic format. Note: this program will let you read PDF files, not create them. That function is part of the commercial package.
Macromedia Flash and Shockwave Players Programs that allow you to view Flash and Shockwave animations and effects on web pages. Again, the program to create these files is a commercial product. This is the general page for Macromedia downloads. Select the program you want; the website should direct you to the version appropriate for your platform. If you are running an older operating system or browser and can't or don't want to upgrade, the other players link may help you find a player compatable with your system.
Microsoft Media Player a basic tool for playing music and video files created with Microsoft products. Like the Explorer download, you'll have to search by system and program.
Quicktime This program runs video clips on your computer.
RealPlayer 8 Allows you to listen to audio files. It's a little hard to find the free download in all the ads. Look for a box on the home page labeled "free downloads."
Inspiration (30-day Trial) A program that allows easy creation of flow charts. There is also a child-directed version called Kidspiration, also available as a 30-day trial.
- DreamWeaver (30-day Trial) This is a very nice HTML editor that we used to make most of these web pages. It's worth checking out if you want to try web design. Macromedia has trial versions of most of their multimedia programs, so check them out, too.
Warning! These addresses are provided as a courtesy to the visitors to the NWIC Virtual Library. While we feel that these programs are useful, we do not endorse them or the companies that create and maintain them. No group or individual affiliated with this project has any connection to these companies, organizations, tools, and we cannot be held responsible for anything that might be done with or by them.