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Ten pieces of free software every doctor should have

2007; Elsevier BV; Volume: 369; Issue: 9560 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/s0140-6736(07)60233-5

1474-547X

Adam Magos, Rakhi Mehta, Ioannis Tsimpanakos,

Social Media in Health Education

Computers and the internet have an increasingly important role in medicine, and have become integral to modern care. For instance, it has been suggested that search engines can help doctors diagnose difficult cases.1Tang H Ng JHK Googling for a diagnosis—use of Google as a diagnostic aid: internet based study.BMJ. 2006; 333: 1143-1145Crossref PubMed Scopus (303) Google ScholarThe internet is not only a font of factual knowledge but also a source of useful software, much of it free (freeware). These are our “top ten” free utilities for computers running the Windows operating system (panel). They are small programs that facilitate common computing tasks and which we use regularly to supplement standard commercial software.PanelTop ten free utilities for computers running WindowsYahoo Desktop Search (http://desktop.yahoo.com)A permanent index of your computer's hard disk means you can find specific documents, images, presentations, etc, instantaneously rather than having to search from scratch every time.2Magos A Gambadauro P Desktop search engines: a modern way to hand search in full text.Lancet. 2005; 366: 203-204Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (6) Google ScholarFoxit Reader (http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php)Everyone uses Adobe Reader to view pdf (portable document format) documents. Foxit Reader does this job as well, but loads much more quickly.Cute PDF Writer (http://www.cutepdf.com/Products/CutePDF/writer.asp)Saving web pages can be awkward because of the coding used. Instead, save both text and graphics as a pdf document with PDF Writer. PDF Writer can also convert Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, etc, into pdf.PDF Blender (http://www.spaceblue.com/pdfblender)You can easily merge several pdf documents in to one with PDF Blender.DeskPins (http://users.forthnet.gr/pat/efotinis/programs/deskpins.html)If you are preparing a paper or chapter and want to have your references visible as you are writing, DeskPins can be used to have several windows topmost on your screen.ScreenHunter Free (http://www.wisdom-soft.com/products/screenhunter_free.htm)How can you capture text, tables, figures, or images from your computer screen for your PowerPoint presentation? Simple, use ScreenHunter Free.FastStone Image Viewer (http://www.faststone.org)This is an excellent program for browsing, converting, showing, and editing your image collection. You can even add annotations, arrows, etc.SyncBack (http://www.2brightsparks.com/downloads.html#freeware)Everyone should regularly back up their data, and SyncBack will do this via an easy-to-use interface. It can also synchronise data, which is useful if you wish to keep update data on your USB memory stick.JustZipIt (http://free-backup.info/justzipit.html)A lot of people use WinZip to compress and archive data, for instance before emailing it. JustZipIt does the same job automatically without the confusing configuration requirements of WinZip.YouSendIt (http://www.yousendit.com)Most email providers limit the size of attachments you can email. Instead, upload files of up to 100 MB using YouSendIt, and the person you are sending the file to will be able to download it.We declare that we have no conflict of interest. Computers and the internet have an increasingly important role in medicine, and have become integral to modern care. For instance, it has been suggested that search engines can help doctors diagnose difficult cases.1Tang H Ng JHK Googling for a diagnosis—use of Google as a diagnostic aid: internet based study.BMJ. 2006; 333: 1143-1145Crossref PubMed Scopus (303) Google Scholar The internet is not only a font of factual knowledge but also a source of useful software, much of it free (freeware). These are our “top ten” free utilities for computers running the Windows operating system (panel). They are small programs that facilitate common computing tasks and which we use regularly to supplement standard commercial software. Yahoo Desktop Search (http://desktop.yahoo.com)A permanent index of your computer's hard disk means you can find specific documents, images, presentations, etc, instantaneously rather than having to search from scratch every time.2Magos A Gambadauro P Desktop search engines: a modern way to hand search in full text.Lancet. 2005; 366: 203-204Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (6) Google ScholarFoxit Reader (http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php)Everyone uses Adobe Reader to view pdf (portable document format) documents. Foxit Reader does this job as well, but loads much more quickly.Cute PDF Writer (http://www.cutepdf.com/Products/CutePDF/writer.asp)Saving web pages can be awkward because of the coding used. Instead, save both text and graphics as a pdf document with PDF Writer. PDF Writer can also convert Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, etc, into pdf.PDF Blender (http://www.spaceblue.com/pdfblender)You can easily merge several pdf documents in to one with PDF Blender.DeskPins (http://users.forthnet.gr/pat/efotinis/programs/deskpins.html)If you are preparing a paper or chapter and want to have your references visible as you are writing, DeskPins can be used to have several windows topmost on your screen.ScreenHunter Free (http://www.wisdom-soft.com/products/screenhunter_free.htm)How can you capture text, tables, figures, or images from your computer screen for your PowerPoint presentation? Simple, use ScreenHunter Free.FastStone Image Viewer (http://www.faststone.org)This is an excellent program for browsing, converting, showing, and editing your image collection. You can even add annotations, arrows, etc.SyncBack (http://www.2brightsparks.com/downloads.html#freeware)Everyone should regularly back up their data, and SyncBack will do this via an easy-to-use interface. It can also synchronise data, which is useful if you wish to keep update data on your USB memory stick.JustZipIt (http://free-backup.info/justzipit.html)A lot of people use WinZip to compress and archive data, for instance before emailing it. JustZipIt does the same job automatically without the confusing configuration requirements of WinZip.YouSendIt (http://www.yousendit.com)Most email providers limit the size of attachments you can email. Instead, upload files of up to 100 MB using YouSendIt, and the person you are sending the file to will be able to download it. Yahoo Desktop Search (http://desktop.yahoo.com) A permanent index of your computer's hard disk means you can find specific documents, images, presentations, etc, instantaneously rather than having to search from scratch every time.2Magos A Gambadauro P Desktop search engines: a modern way to hand search in full text.Lancet. 2005; 366: 203-204Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (6) Google Scholar Foxit Reader (http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php) Everyone uses Adobe Reader to view pdf (portable document format) documents. Foxit Reader does this job as well, but loads much more quickly. Cute PDF Writer (http://www.cutepdf.com/Products/CutePDF/writer.asp) Saving web pages can be awkward because of the coding used. Instead, save both text and graphics as a pdf document with PDF Writer. PDF Writer can also convert Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, etc, into pdf. PDF Blender (http://www.spaceblue.com/pdfblender) You can easily merge several pdf documents in to one with PDF Blender. DeskPins (http://users.forthnet.gr/pat/efotinis/programs/deskpins.html) If you are preparing a paper or chapter and want to have your references visible as you are writing, DeskPins can be used to have several windows topmost on your screen. ScreenHunter Free (http://www.wisdom-soft.com/products/screenhunter_free.htm) How can you capture text, tables, figures, or images from your computer screen for your PowerPoint presentation? Simple, use ScreenHunter Free. FastStone Image Viewer (http://www.faststone.org) This is an excellent program for browsing, converting, showing, and editing your image collection. You can even add annotations, arrows, etc. SyncBack (http://www.2brightsparks.com/downloads.html#freeware) Everyone should regularly back up their data, and SyncBack will do this via an easy-to-use interface. It can also synchronise data, which is useful if you wish to keep update data on your USB memory stick. JustZipIt (http://free-backup.info/justzipit.html) A lot of people use WinZip to compress and archive data, for instance before emailing it. JustZipIt does the same job automatically without the confusing configuration requirements of WinZip. YouSendIt (http://www.yousendit.com) Most email providers limit the size of attachments you can email. Instead, upload files of up to 100 MB using YouSendIt, and the person you are sending the file to will be able to download it. We declare that we have no conflict of interest.