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Get five Ashampoo software downloads for free

Who says you can't get something for nothing? These five Ashampoo productivity programs and utilities normally have a combined purchase price of around $160.

rickbroida
rickbroida
Rick Broida Senior Editor
Rick Broida is the author of numerous books and thousands of reviews, features and blog posts. He writes CNET's popular Cheapskate blog and co-hosts Protocol 1: A Travelers Podcast (about the TV show Travelers). He lives in Michigan, where he previously owned two escape rooms (chronicled in the ebook "I Was a Middle-Aged Zombie").
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Rick Broida
2 min read
No forms, no rebates, no strings attached, just five very worthwhile free programs from Ashampoo.
No forms, no rebates, no strings attached, just five very worthwhile free programs from Ashampoo. Ashampoo

Remember that legendary "Oprah" episode? "You get a car! And you get a car! And you get a car!"

This may not be quite as sexy, but here goes: You get five free programs from Ashampoo! And you get five free programs from Ashampoo! And you get...well, the point, right?

Software developer Ashampoo ("We Make Software!"--seriously, that's their slogan) is giving away full versions of five PC programs. Just enter coupon code ASH-444LW1 (making sure it has no spaces on either side), then start downloading whichever program(s) you want. No strings attached.

Update: Just to clarify, at least some of the programs (I haven't yet tried them all) will appear as 10-day trial versions. If you click Get Full Version, you'll be taken to a Web page (in German, unfortunately) where you can enter your e-mail address to receive an activation link. When it arrives, click the link and you'll land at another Web form. Complete it and click "Senden" to immediately see your activation code. Copy and paste the code into the program and you're good to go.

Your choices are:

  • Burning Studio 2010 Advanced (for CD, DVD, and Blu-ray burning projects)
  • Home Designer (a 3D home-planning tool)
  • Photo Commander 7 (for sharing, organizing, and managing photos and videos)
  • Snap 3 (a screen- and video-capture utility)
  • WinOptimizer 6 (a Windows tuning, maintenance, and optimization utility)

So why is Ashampoo giving away software with a combined value of about $160? Most likely to build brand awareness. However, the last three products on the list are not the latest versions (i.e. there's a Photo Commander 8, a Snap 4, etc.), so there's obviously a bit of upgrade-baiting behind this.

I have no problem with that. In fact, I'd like to see more software companies give away earlier, discontinued versions of their products. Otherwise it's just wasted code, right? (I'm looking at you, Microsoft. You'd earn an awful lot of goodwill by giving away, say, Office 2003.)

I'm not sure when this promotion will end, so if you want to stock up on some or all of these freebies, get 'em while you can.

Bonus deal: Off-road racing gem DiRT 2 earned a 9.0 from GameSpot when it debuted about a year ago. Head to Direct2Drive and you can download DiRT 2 (PC) for a mere $6. Six bucks! Way too good to pass up.