If you are always using programs to capture an image or record a screencast then check out Jing. Jing is a free program to record images and screencast with the most simplistic controls. With Jing you can share content to your hard drive, an FTP server, network drive, Screencast.com, embedded on your blog, copy images to your clipboard, or upload to Flickr. Jing was made by the makers of SnagIt and Camtasia Studio. If you are in the IT department it can be a big help.

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Audacity, The free, cross-platform sound editor. This open source software will record and edit sounds, music, and audio. The graphical user interface is very similar on several different operating systems including Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows and GNU/Linux. Audacity records live audio, covert tapes/records to digital formats, edit various sound files, change speed of music files, and much much more. Click HERE for a complete list of Audacity’s features. Click HERE to download Audacity.