TOOGAM's Software Archives
Please self-impose bandwidth limits from this site as appropriate, connecting to other sites and using their download URLs when possible. This website has been launched on a 256kbps symmetrical DSL line, and since moved to a 768K download but only 128K upload line, so it upload speed may be even slow than many other DSL lines. It is therefore likely to be to the public's advantage to download from other locations. Links to local download locations may be provided for purposes of backup (in case a remote website goes down and therefore no longer provides the file) and for the specific minority that would benefit from internal use due to being on the same side of the web server's internet connection as the web server.
If things get too far out of hand, bandwidth monitoring/controls may need to be implemented, possibly involving shutting down access completely to certain files (especially zip or executable files). I realize that is of little concern for someone just wishing to download one important file, and I also realize some other webmasters would not like download traffic without people visiting their sites' pages. For these reasons I'm not currently prohibiting any sort of downloading, but I am requesting to use other resources when possible, as the majority of the time chances are other resources will be better apt to handle the bandwidth. Besides these advantages that may be more significant for the server than they are for the average downloader, the average downloader may well find that other sites deliver files faster than this one.
[#organiza]:In attempt to find software by function, rather than by the operating environment the software was designed for, software is now listed by type rather than by compatibility requirements. This is a change from past practices and is done due to the ability of multiple operating systems to be able to run other operating systems, and so that users of one operating system (like Windows 98 Second Edition) can see what software does exist for another operating system (like MS-DOS or Windows XP) for a greater understanding of what other operating systems support. This also means adding a new piece of software for a new operating system won't involve needing to re-create already existing sections, only to end up making brand new sections for a small selection of software and ending up with sections that seem rather bare and perhaps incomplete.
Initial effort has been to document what software exists and where it can be found. This allows for easy checking of new versions. A lot of software has been copied locally, but the web pages haven't bothered to include links to the local files. This has primarily been done so that short term efforts can be focused on getting more sections in good condition. If a visitor sees a reference to a file but it becomes unavailable on the remote site, one may wish remove the web page's filename and to search nearby directories. (Filenames locally may be renamed so that they are short and thereby more compaible with some FAT and ISO9660 file systems.)
[#favortsm]:In general, I tend to favor free applications which are legal to distribute and use. This way one can legitimately feel comfort in easily knowing that legal rules are not being broken by the use of the software, and not having to worry about whether one has an appropriate license for each copy of the software, or if someone else might wish to have me participate in illegal piracy (with, or even without my knowledge) by copying software I use. In some cases, software with certain legal restrictions may be distributed or mentioned on this site. I try to be aware of such things, and so will attempt to point out those restrictions on this site.
I tend to like command line programs. Programs for DOS are appealing since many DOS programs can be run on a wide variety of operating systems, including 32-bit GUI operating systems such as the 32-bit Microsoft Windows releases. They also will often run faster than other software and can be run using simpler hardware than many other operating systems. Because of all of these things, chances are a lot of DOS software will be made available on this page, surely to a higher degree than many other general software archives. However, this site is not meant to be DOS-specific and software for other operating systems may be found on this site.
[#otherres]:This page is considered a sub-page underneath TOOGAM's Software section which may also have additional resources such as tutorials.
[#resourcs]Operating systems and related software such as official patches for the operating systems, and major components used by a lot of software designed for the operating systems, such as important libraries (like DirectX) and operating environments (like X-Windows GUIs).
Operating Systems are listed first because they are important to be aware of, namely since most other software gets distributed designed (by executable binary file format design, or perhaps just calls in the source codes to certain resources like drivers or APIs) for use with a specific operating system (like FreeDOS) or class of Operating Systems (like 32-bit Windows or Unix). Choosing an operating system is quite literally a starting point. In many cases, the choice of operating system may be pre-made, such as using whatever is already bundled on a device, and using the same operating system is simplest.
Most computers used by people who aren't familiar with operating systems are using some version of Microsoft Windows. Using software designed for Windows, or its precursor DOS (since Windows can run DOS programs which, like Windows programs, may have varying degrees of success), is generally the safest bet for easy success. An exception, notable due to market share, would be Apple Macintosh computers which may run programs designed for a version of MacOS.
Virus checking can be a very positive type of software to have automatically run. Firewalls can also be beneficial. This is often a good type of software to get installed early so that protection starts sooner, although in practice some other software (such as network drivers and perhaps a file transfering program, and maybe even one or more operating system patches) may need to be installed for the protective software to be downloaded and start to work at its best, including using the latest databases and/or other software updates. On the other hand, the more stuff that gets installed before the protection software, the more opportunity there is for something bad to be installed before the protection software.
Also in this section would be software designed for working around protective software, such as password recovery software that can help in cases of lost passwords.
A driver, which would be a piece of driver software, is typically software that is designed to make some specific item work in a general way. For example, drivers issue and understand the specific device commands used by printers and mice, using whatever software language is understood by that device (which often may be fairly customized for the device and not used by other, similar devices). This allows other software, such as the graphical user interface of an operating system or a print command of a word processor, to work in common ways by using the generalized methods that are commonly provided by drivers. Many drivers are therefore largely correctly viewed as translators, translating data meant for a specific device to more generalized concepts like a mouse cursor's position. They are also often viewed viewed, quite correctly, as the software needed to make a specific thing work. (They are therefore unpleasant to not have working when they are desired.)
Drivers will therefore be specific not only to the specific device, but also to the generalized standard. For example, a third party mouse driver called CuteMouse made for DOS will handle specific types of mice, but will not support the different generalized standards used by Microsoft Windows or an Apple Macintosh operating system.
Some software called drivers are typically bundled in with operating systems, and they tend to be written specifically for use with certain targets of operating systems (moreso than other software). Still, getting add-on drivers or updated versions of drivers to work is a task often viewed as a separate task performed mostly after the initial operating system install, so they get a separate section.
Some additional software providing low-level access to hardware, such as RAM memory testing programs, may also be in this section, even if they are not commonly viewed as drivers. Firmware is essentially the same thing as a common driver with the notable characteristic of typically being designed to be both stored in and executed on the device itself.
Video game consoles often run some specialized software designed for the propriety software environment supported by the console's manufacture. Some software, such as custom fonts, may be found here.
Another related resource of possible interest is the Games and Multimedia Demos section.