By Mike McCarthy
Even in non-economic hardships, it makes sense to utilize a multitude of free software utilities, tools, and applications available on the Internet. These are available free from generous and talented programmers, companies producing products under Open Source, companies which offer their wares free for personal use (commercial users must pay for these), and even some companies with ulterior motives (enter Snidely Whiplash stage left).
Open Source refers to companies, committees, and communities that prescribe to a fundamental and universal concept: Open source code that accepts global contributions from technical people around the world and offers these products to everyone free of charge. Refer to blog http://www.itcaz.com/blog/2008/10/openofficeorg.html for more information regarding Open Source.
Some companies not offering Open Source products may still offer these free for personal use as they generally earn their revenue from large enterprise and commercial clients.
However, beware of all free offers. Some take advantage of the free and Open Source concept to lure you into their lair in order to infect your computer with viruses and or parasites (Trojan horses, worms, add-ware, spy-ware, etc.). Always read the company’s EULA (End User License Agreement) before you click download to be sure you fully understand the consequences, if any.
I’m sure there are hundreds more, but here are some alternative products I have downloaded, tested, evaluated, and or use today:
Internet Browsers
- Chrome – Another free Internet browser; this one from Google
- Safari – Free Internet browser for PCs from Apple
- Firefox – Free, popular Internet browser Mozilla
Email Applications
- GMail – Free email application from Google
- Eudora – Free email application provided by Qualcomm, Eudora has been around since the early to mid nineties and is a trusted and time-tested email application
- Thunderbird – Free email application also from Mozilla
Office Applications
- OpenOffice.org – An Open Source suite of applications to compete with Microsoft’s Office suite
Remote Desktop Applications
- Teamviewer – Free (for personal use) remote desktop application that rivals GoToMyPC, Webex, logmein, and others
Utility Programs
- AlZip – A free alternative to WinZip and WinRar (they now charge for their products), which also offers a number of other free products for personal use such as music, movies, and pictures
- Belarc – A free utility that will generate a comprehensive report of your computer’s configuration, devices, software applications, and operating system
On-Line Music Applications
- iTunes – Apple’s M4P (universally noted as MP4) music player and download store
- RealPlayer – MP3 music player and download store
- dbpowerAMP – MP3 music player and editor/converter
Contact Information:
Mike@itcaz.com
http://www.itcaz.com/
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