Happy Birthday, GAOTD.

I found the site through Google around feb 2007 when looking for info on the adware bundled with Crystal Player my AV had reported. The software had been offered here and someone had commented they had experienced the same. Like Txnnok said, it's been a ritual visiting every day ever since.

Thank you for the past two years !

May you live long and prosper !!!

I first found GOTD from a blog that had the link for Mechanical Clock 3D Screen saver from 3Planesoft. I remember being excited to be able to get it(not that I'm that crazy about screen savers, but that one was so beautiful)and then shocked by the rudeness of some of the comments. It was made by the same company that last weekend's Coral Reef screen saver came from, also very beautiful, but nothing has changed in the comment section! :)))) But by now I take the comments with a grain of salt, and expect a certain level of rudeness. Sad, huh?
I should also say that I've learned so much from the comment section that even with the negative aspect, I find them well worth reading.

Congratulations GOTD on your anniversary! A big "THANK YOU" for all the software, games and screen savers that you have made possible for us to DL and enjoy!
Thank you also, People of the forums, Bubby, Lee and Whiterabbit, you have helped make me a game addict. :)))

Happy Birthday (last but not least) to GGOTD and GOTD!!!
I have enjoyed my visits here and even more have enjoyed being introduced to great games and developers...thank you, thank you!!
I have purchased several after trying their free offerings here!
I hope that this is just the start of many interesting years!

:)

Happy B-Day GOATD,

You have become a daily ritual in my life that I look for to each day. Many thanks to ya'll and all the hard work ya'll do.

I, too, like the others posting here, want to add my "Happy Birthday" wishes and a great big "THANK-YOU" to GOTD. I don't have anything different to add, I will just strongly second many of the previous posters' comments. I have an older computer, (Pentium III, 730Mhz, 512MB) that has slowed to crawl. My son says it's because I have too much "stuff" (nicened for the audience) on the computer. (Courtesy of GOTD, BTW) Probably too true! Keep up the good work and may you have many more birthdays to celebrate!!
Terry

Well that means I have been here 2 years.

Says on profile Jan 18th, thats incorrect as it was October 2006.

I for one would like to say thank you and happy birthday to GOTD. I have been visiting the site daily (except when on holiday or away on business) since about December 2006. In those early days I downloaded just about everything, but have learnt to be much more selective now. Some very useful software still lives on my machine, but little gets downloaded now - mainly updates of earlier versions.
There was a time when there was a real danger of addiction to the site, but that is over now. The problem is the addiction to the games I've got from here!
Anyway, thanks to all the GOTD team and to the forum mods who work so hard for us.

First of all, I’d like to come up with a thing for people like me who’ve got sort of an „erotic“ relationship towards statistics. :-)

Until now, around 270 software companies participated in the GOTD project (counting depends mainly of how you judge cases when virtually the same software gets a new brand respectively a new publisher). The table below shows some interesting details.

Number of companies Country/Area of origin

77 (=29 %) RU (Russia)
47 (=17 %) Europe (core), 19 countries, thereof RO (Romania) and UK (United Kingdom) with 7 companies each
42 (=16 %) CN (China)
32 (=12 %) US (United States of America)
27 (=10 %) UA (Ukraine)
23 (= 9 %) Others (11 countries)
21 (= 8 %) Unknown / Identity protected

The extracted table below displays the number of „new“ software titles in the sense of being different from one another offered by a single company (first column) and the number of all GOTD participations by a single company including repeats (second column). You see the nine leading companies in their descending order.
According to my counting the Pro version of a software previously given away as the Home version is referred to as a „new“ title.

Company Titels Giveaways

Astro Gemini 31 35
Wondershare 21 27
CoolUtils 12 13
ExtraLabs 12 12
Chengdu Yiwo 11 12
Plato 10 11
VicMan 10 10
Online Media 10 10
Rixane 7 7
. . . . . . . . .

Overall 563 701

I was lucky to detect the „website No.1“, http://www.giveawayoftheday.com, in mid December 2006 by way of a user hint I read on a leading pc magazine’s website of my country.
The funny thing about this is that I was visiting the other website because they themselves were giving away commercial software titles for free on the occasion of christmas time (Advent calendar).
So, after my first visit on GOTD, I wasn’t quite sure which was the better giveaway site. But once christmas 2006 was over, there wasn’t much doubt about it anymore ...

The entire first year or so I was 100% convinced GOTD to be a US project simply because up to February 2007 English had been the language exclusively used. Besides, it’s a well-known fact that a (relative) majority of the most important pc software developers worldwide are located in the US. To learn that GOTD is a genuine Russian project was almost as astounding to me as the latest news (end of Sept. 08) that China had their first man walking freely through space (I remember them well for having „seriously“ claimed at their pavilion at the Expo several years back to have been landed on the Moon already!)

We have as yet been offered numerous commercial apps a good amount of which were valuable and worthwhile keeping.
I must confess, though, that GOTD has seen by far better times IMO than what we have been experiencing since around April this year. And I am not talking about repeats in the first place. As of now, the last giveaway to be useful for me on a daily basis has to have been Capture Assistant (09/12/08). And I’m sure that the „Black Sunday“ on August 17th (Plato Video to iPod Converter) will remain as the day when GOTD, if only for 24 hours, in full conscience left the path of virtue.

Might the words of the most honourable of all GOTD members, Stephen Brown aka Whiterabbit, come true, and the Giveaway project go on for lots of years to come!
Still, it stands out among all websites worldwide that offer commercial software for free or are alleged to do so.
I for one appreciate very much what Slava & Co. for exactly two years have been doing to the benefit of both the user community and the companies participating.

Many happy returns of your anniversary, Giveaway of the Day!
Nastrowje!

Since I stumbbled upon GGOTD in Dec. '06 I've lost count of the numbers of games I've d/l. Every day was exciting, with something new to surprise me. The "honeymoon" lasted over a year. Even with weekend only & many repeats, I keep coming back.
I congrulate GOTD on the new concept and success over the years. Thanks for "being there" for so long !

Happy Birthday GOTD. I've never came here or posted but it looks like fun. LOL

Hi All, Happy Birthday GOTD!!! I can't even remember what my first game was, as I think about it, maybe Brave Dwarves.. I got all giggly when a new one came. I'm a game player from way back..remember Magnavox Odyssey? I bought thatfor my children when it first came out. I was out of town and I opened it, played it all week, then took it to the gift store in the hotel and had it wrapped. I've been addicted ever since. I've spawned two more generations of gamers the youngest being 3 who can beat us all with a Wii. Anyway, when I found this site, I was in game heaven, and then there were all the other applications I was getting and all free (Samm, Queen of Free).
So GOTD, I for one truely appreciate everything you do and I'll be here waiting breathlessly for whatever you offer me. Thanks soooooooooooooo much and Have a very very Happy Birthday.

And up it goes again!

5 days left.

There must be some MORE experiences and reflections towards the 2. anniversary of GOTD.

Happy Birthday GOTD and good morning ALL! I started in May, 2007, and must say I've now been exposed to all kinds of different software that I never knew existed! It's amazing all the things we can do on our computers! I don't d/l each and every thing anymore, who has all that room? But, everything I've gotten here has helped me a lot, not counting all the games!
Like all of you.. I make this the first stop when I wake up each day (well, actually the 2nd stop.. LOL). But it's part of my morning ritual, before I even get me a cuppa!

It's been almost the two years for me, although I don't post much. I discovered the site 'accidentally' and have been visiting almost daily since. I love this site, it is the first place I come in the morning, or when I can't sleep at night. So many usernames have become familiar to me, they are like the family one sees' but is not in regular contact. I'm not much of a software person, yet I've found a few that I like. The games, though, are my mainstay, and I would surely be filing bankruptcy about now were it not for GOTD! Thanks so much for the work you do behind the scenes and the games and software you search out for us. Here's to a great anniversary and hopefully, many, many more!

Hi Mercurius,
Someone did post a comment last year reminding us all that it was a year since they started. I remember because I posted a comment about it myself in response. Though I can't remember which section it was posted in, so haven't bothered to search for it.

My first Giveaway was DiskInternals CD & DVD Recovery, given away on 30th November 2006. I remember the day I found it actually. I was really surprised to find a site that offered free commercial programs without all the extra's that go with such sites (like multiple advertising, plus pop ups etc). I came to really look forwards to waking up in the morning to see what was being given away. In fact a ritual started where I would make myself a drink and get myself comfortable in front of the computer before I'd open up the giveaway page. It was always a pleasure to do that, and even when I was disappointed I'd think "Ah well, maybe tomorrow". :)

I still enjoy visiting the project a lot and spend quite some time posting stuff in the forums. I don't get the same buzz that I used to though, but that's only to be expected as we all become habituated to such things. I do really miss the game giveaway project though as that was where my main interest lay.

I really don't need any new software, though it's great to be able to compare similar programs and then make a decision as to which you think is best, then I consider buying it if I think it's going to be useful; (though not always useful, for example, one of the first giveaways that I bought was Wirechanger {and got Wirekeys thrown in} because I love messing with my desktop - not a necessity, but enjoyable to have).

The reason I keep coming to the giveaway (apart from the fact that I've got into the habit of writing weekend game reviews and now the free weekday games project) is just in case we get one of those programs like Wirechanger (I kept the clock from the other day that puts a clock wallpaper on your desktop, and I kept Chameleon Desktop) Most other software such as the converters and DVD rippers I'm not bothered about in the least, but I'm sure there are many that are.

I think the giveaway project will continue to survive well into the future for two reasons, firstly because it has filled a niche that was lacking prior to it's inception. (Okay there are loads of free download sites around like Softpedia and Caiman, but they don't offer full commercial programs like we get here on the giveaway project); and secondly because developers know that the giveaway project has a high profile with search engines like Google. You just have to type in DVD ripper or screensaver and the Giveaway projects web address pops up in the search engine. I've even tested it by searching for a specific phrase that I've written in one of my game reviews and it's found the comment quickly.

regards

Stephen

Two years down the line...may things continue for a long time yet.In that time I've downloaded and tested a lot of great programmes and games,too many for one computer.I can't remember first few programmes I got,but all have been appreciated,some even purchased,many lost and re-downloaded next time around.Keep up the great work.

Bob.

one word ... Kinder Eggs....

Same thing for me.. it's a surprise everyday... heck I woudn't have the patience to harass so many software members to offer what we get online..

Chapeau GAOTD.... hope to see you in a nother 5-10 years..

Shawn

I've been visiting GOTD for a about a year or so now. Many times I don't download anything but I always enjoy pulling of GOTD while I drink my morning coffee before work. GOTD is very much a part of my morning ritual and I truly appreciate having this website to visit. I also appreciate all their hard work they do to research and provide people with free goodies. I truly wish people would stop whining and complaining like they so readily do when they don't get what they want. Life doesn't revolve around the simple minded needs of one person. GOTD doesn't have to provide anything for anyone, so be grateful they even bother. I also wish to add that I love the forums which I read daily and feel I'm getting to know everyone a little. GOTD this southern gal appreciates you. I look forward to spending many more mornings with you. Happy 2nd GOTD team.

One year ago when the first "birthday" of the giveaway project was passing by, I didn't notice a single word of remembrance. Not even from the GOTD team themselves.
Okay, what's 12 months of existence, you could have thought. On the other hand, would you at New Year 2006 have imagined to get dozens of commercial software programs and games for free by the end of the year? Up to October 2006, this was an utopian idea.

In little more than a week's time, we can add another 12 months to the corporate vita of GOTD.
There have been ups and downs since it all began, no doubt, but who, honestly, would be
willing resp. prepared to no more catch a glimpse of the new giveaway every morning before (s)he is starting with work?

This thread is meant to invite all regular GOTD visitors, especially the many ones that are aboard for more than a year, now.

What looks your personal balance like you make up from your experiences with the GOTD
project?
Do you feel grateful and want to "congratulate" GOTD to their second "birthday"?
What's your future perspective for the whole project?

My recommendation for everybody contributing to this thread is to mention the date of his first visit at GOTD.

Here we go. Let's start!