Free software online has always been one of the advantages of the Internet. People collaborate and develop software to compete with some of the pricier kinds, or companies develop low-level versions of their for-sale versions.

To download all of those 'heavy' files, try FlashGet (www.flashget.com). This is a free download accelerator that also supports BitTorrent files. BitTorrent file downloading is a means of grabbing files on the Internet in many smaller packages from a number of storage servers simultaneously. The method helps speed up the downloading of large files.

Of course you can always try out Download Accelerator Plus (www.speedbit.com), which I currently use. I of course like it, though sometimes it can get in the way and if you are downloading lots of files it seems to default back to the home directory, rather than the last one used in the session.

The software works by splitting files into bite-sized pieces. It will also get the file from a number of other sites, or mirrors, simultaneously.

Need to encrypt some files on your shared computers so prying eyes do not get to see them? Then try TrueCrypt (www.truecrypt.org). The software creates an encrypted virtual disk within a file and mounts it as if were a real disk on your system using a recommended password. You can also use the file to encrypt a storage device such as USB flash drive or hard drive. Just make sure you store your password somewhere else, and in many places! The WorldWide Telescope (www.worldwidetelescope.org) brings together a variety of resources — such as online content from the Hubble Space Telescope, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory Centre — to allow you to explore the Universe in impressive detail.

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Neil Young has always been one of my favourite musicians. In fact I generally listen to some Neil tunes at least once a day. But like many connected musicians, there is more to the man than his music. Young is using his wealth to give something back to society. For at least the past year Young and his team have been working on a vehicle that can get 100 miles per gallon on the road. His "Linc Volt" team is using a 1959 Lincoln Continental Mk IV convertible as the body for a new hybrid system for powering the car.

On his site Young says the team has already achieved 50 miles to the gallon with the car. The Lincoln runs on electricity for short runs and on natural gas for longer trips. When on gas, a generator recharges the battery. "We want to build a zero emissions automobile that eliminates roadside refuelling entirely, a safe powerful automobile that is comfortable and economic on both long trips and the commute to work, an automobile that can generate power to the home when it is parked, potentially creating an income stream for the owner," he says on the site (www.lincvolt.com). A live webcam allows visitors to view the Linkvolt garage where the car is being worked on by a variety of people, including Young.

The team is attempting to win the Progressive Automotive X Prize. A qualifying race among the competing teams will be held in 2009 and the final race from California to Washington DC will take place in 2010.

The prize is worth $10 million so if you happen to have been working on one in your garage get the details here: www.progressiveautoxprize.org.

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Are you a distressed financial wiz who needs to go cry someplace? The Financial Times has launched a private social networking site just for you. Called the Long Room, after the former Long Room off Throgmorton Street where the investment crowd used to gather a long time ago, the "new comment and analysis area" tries to keep out the mob by restricting access to vetted registered users.

The Long Room is a spin off of FT.com's financial blog, FT Alphaville, which has 7.1 million unique users, including 750,000 registered users. Try it out at: http://v2.ftalphaville.ft.com/longroom.

Send any comments to elamin.ahmed@gmail.com.