The great Freebie Program hunt

GarethM_2 · 29 June 2007 at 10:44PM

I have been an avid supporter of free and open source software for a very long time. ANd it is odd to think in this day and age of high commercialism that you CAN actually own a computer and have all the software you ever need for any purpose whatsoever and have paid nothing for it. To follow is my list of free software you can use and have your computer running on and never have paid a dime.

Operating System

The heart and soul of a computer. Traditionally Windows made by Microsoft fulfils this role. But another candidate at MUCH less the price. Yes, I am talking about Linux. But there is one specific version (called distribution by us geeks) that is really awesomely user friendly. Fedora Linux is the best and nicest Linux version I have found yet. Even someone who has never used Linux can use Fedora.

http://www.fedoraproject.org

Office Productivity

Most people also need to have software they can prepare documents with, do their spreadsheets, even make the odd presentation. Well, another great candidate can be gotten for nothing. The best thing about this Offic package is that it si compatible with Microsofts Office Suite, being able to read and save as MS Word documents, Excel spreadsheets and a lot more. It is called OpenOffice.org and supports Windows, Linux and I think they even now have a Macintosh version.

http://www.openoffice.org

Graphics Editing

Why fork out for Paintshop Pro or Photoshop when The GIMP wil do just as nicely. The GIMP has all the high end features you expect from a high end graphics editing program but has a much lower price tag. Its interface is a bit odd and takes getting used to but you do so pretty quickly.

http://www.gimp.org

NOTE:If you installed Fedora Linux, OpenOffice and The GIMP are installed with it.

Security Software

Avast! Antivirus - http://www.avast.com
Ashampoo Antivirus and Firewall - http://ashampoo.com
Ad-Aware SE Personal Spyware Removal - http://www.grisoft.com
Eclipse - Programming Development Environment Software including web development - http://www.eclipse.org

I know heaps more but they get pretty esoteric hehe. Lets see what everyone else can come up with

Schneaky · 29 June 2007 at 11:03PM

For those who want software for using a digital projector in a church setting for the display of songs, an excellent free piece of software is Zionworx (www.zionworx.org.uk).