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FREE SOFTWARE
I'm a big fan of free software, no matter if it's Open Source or just simply Freeware. I've run into some folks, even computer savvy people, who have never heard that there are free alternatives to a lot of big name software out there.
If you don't use all the features of Adobe Photoshop, why pay the huge price tag for it? Why risk the installation of a virus, trojan, or rootkit to download illegally cracked software from a torrent site when you can get free software that's safe, secure, easy to use, and above all, legal? One could argue that commercial programs are better than free ones, but I've run into some free programs that were actually better than their expensive competition. Here's a list of some of my favorite applications you can get for FREE. (I'm open to suggestion as well, so if you have something to add to this list, let me know!) Free Windows Utilities:- CCleaner: Formerly known as "Crap Cleaner", CCleaner cleans your PC of unwanted temp files, removes items to protect your privacy, and can remove junk from your registry. Easy to use, and you can't live without it. Windows platform only.
- Advanced System Care: Fixes, optimizes and protects your registry and your system. There are free addons to optimize your internet connection, smart defrag your hard drive and more. I use this in conjunction with CCleaner and use both programs to clean my registry. Easy to use, you can't live without this either! Windows platform only.
- Zone Alarm: Please don't tell me your relying on Windows built-in firewall for protection. At least use this powerful and configurable firewall that's free! Windows platform only.
- SpywareBlaster: This doesn't really scan and remove spyware, it simply protects your system from known threats. Just run it once, and every once in a while, update it and run it again. Easy. Windows platform only.
- Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware: Scans and removes malware, trojans and other threats on your system. Windows platform only.
- a-squared Free: Fights malware, trojans, adware, worms, keyloggers, spyware and more. Windows platform only.
- SUPERAntiSpyware: Detects and removes over 1,000 threats for free. Aren't you lucky? Windows platform only.
- McAfee Stingers: Stingers are small programs that don't even "install" on your PC. Just download, and run. If your system is infected with one of the viruses that the Stinger can remove, you can kiss that virus goodbye. Even if the virus has disabled your famous antivirus program you paid good money for, the Stinger will come through. I keep a CD of Stingers (and the other tools above) as a toolkit to remove unwanted nasties from client PCs. Windows platform only.
Free Graphic Programs:
- Inkscape: An Open Source vector graphics program, similar to Corel Draw and/or Adobe Illustrator. I've personally made the switch to Inkscape from Corel Draw about two years ago. I'll never go back. Available for Windows, Linux and Mac.
- Scribus: Ok, not exactly a graphics program, its a page layout/desktop publishing application. An Open Source app that is similar to QuarkXPress, InDesign or Microsoft Publisher, although it cannot open those file formats as Scribus does not want to "reverse engineer" anyone else's product. Available for Windows, Linux and Mac.
- Blender: An Open Source 3d rendering and animation program. Check out this fantastic Open Source video "Big Buck Bunny" that was created with Blender here. Available for Windows, Linux and Mac.
- Paint.NET: Free Digital Photo editing software similar to Photoshop, but easier to use. Not quite as feature rich as Photoshop, but it wasn't intended to be. It still has a "layers" function and a few other items that are for more advanced users. Even has tons of free plugins and tutorials, too. I've used Photoshop for many years, but I found that I only used about 1/10 of it. Paint.NET satisfies my needs and then some...for free. Windows platforms only.
- GIMP: GNU Image Manipulation Program. Similar functionality to Photoshop, equally as powerful unless you are going to do some offset printing. For the web, it's top-notch. The interface takes some getting used to, however, and is renown for its..."not intuitiveness" that Linux geeks such as myself love. It sure is fun to play with! Free tutorials, plugins, etc. Available for Windows, Linux and Mac.
- Picasa: Free picture organization and editing software from Google. Among other things, it's like having a picture book on your PC. For more advanced users, you can generate web albums with it, too. Windows platforms only.
- Irfanview: Touted as a "viewer", it does much more, such as batch processing photos. I can still remember when I first used this thing waaaay back in 1998. Windows platforms only.
- OpenOffice.org: Open Source software suite similar to Microsoft Office. You can save/open in popular formats. What I think is neat, is the built-in driver for Base to connect to a MySQL server. Word processing, spreadsheet processing, vector drawing, and database manipulation are all yours for FREE. Available for Windows, Linux and Mac.
- AbiWord: AbiWord is a light-weight word processor similar to MS Word. Its small and fast. Windows and Linux platforms.
- IBM Lotus Symphony: A powerful yet free suite of applications similar to MS Office. Probably a bit more "Microsoft-like" than OpenOffice. The company where I work at is starting to use Symphony to ease the financial pain of having to obtain licenses to use Microsoft Office. I've been using Symphony a bit here and there for almost two years now, and it's word processing and spreadsheet capabilities are about on par with Microsoft's Office programs. Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms.
- Bean: A pretty darned cool FREE word processor for OSX. Has capabilities to export as HTML (something MS is slowly deprecating...). Mac platform only.
- Thunderbird: A free, tabbed e-mail client. A great Outlook replacement if your a home user. Its from Mozilla, too. Get secure and use this with Linux! Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms.
- Sunbird: A free, cross-platform calendar application from Mozilla. (Use Lightning, however, for Thunderbird integration.) Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms.
- GnuCash: Free accounting software similar to Quicken. Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms.
- VLC Media Player: An Open Source media player. Tired of not having the right codec to play a video or music file? Download this and forget your Windows Media Player. I personally use VLC on my Windows and Linux machines. I no longer have the need for bloatware such as "Real Player" or "Quicktime Player" thanks to VLC. Available for Windows, Linux and Mac.
- iTunes: Now that I've mentioned bloatware, now would be an appropriate time to mention iTunes. You can use it for media management and playback, and its not just for iPod owners, either. Mac and Windows platforms.
- Winamp: There's a free version, and a version you can pay for. Media management and playback, not shabby for MP3s. Winamp has been around for a long time, and is a fraction of the size of iTunes. Windows platforms only.
- FileZilla: I've never used any other FTP software. Available for Windows, Linux and Mac.
- WAMP: A really cool program that installs server capabilities to your Windows machine: Apache, MySQL, PHP and phpMyAdmin. What's really neat, is that you can have several different versions of Apache, MySQL and/or PHP and choose which ones you want to use. I prefer WAMPS interface over XAMPP, but that's just me. Windows platform only.
- MAMP: Similar to WAMP, but made for Mac OS X. I don't think there is any affiliation with WAMP. Mac platform only.
- XAMPP: Apache, MySQL, PHP and Pear for 4 different platforms. Available for Windows, Linux and Mac.
- Notepad++: A really cool Notepad replacement for coding. Coding is in color and might help you find bugs. Not just for XHTML or PHP, either, but all sorts of programming languages like C++ and Java. Windows platform only.
- KompoZer: A WYSIWYG web authoring tool powered by Mozilla. Think of it as "Dreamweaver Light" I suppose. I've not used it, but I've seen a couple of elegant static-page type websites built with it. Windows and Linux platforms.
- Amaya: An Open Source WYSIWYG web authoring tool from W3C available for many platforms. Forces you to write proper XHTML. Available for Windows, Linux and Mac.
- CakePHP: An open source PHP driven web frame application similar to Ruby On Rails and uses MVC and ORM conventions. All platforms.
- CodeIgniter: A free PHP driven web frame application promising to have a small footprint. All platforms.
- PortableApps.com: A lot of programs that will run from your thumb drive. Many of the programs listed above are available as "portable apps" that will operate from a thumb drive, or wherever you put the app's folder. Windows platform only (Linux with wine).
- MakeUseOf.com: Programs that will run from your thumb drive or other portable media. Windows and Mac applications! Available for Windows and Mac.
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