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Category: Technology

Free cool software, Part 1 - Open Source

Sep 07

7:47 AM

You just bought a new computer and it came loaded with all kind of
software. At first, you thought your computer had all you ever needed:
a word processor, a spreadsheet software, antivirus and antispyware
software, music and cdrom burning applications. Two months later you
are getting all kind of messages saying “activate this product
now”, “Buy this product now”, and your antivirus
trial subscription is about to expire.

Most new computers come with demo software for you to play with
but just when you were getting used to and comfortable with using it
all the software, you realize that the trial period is about to
expire. Now you have to buy and activate the software to continue
using it.

Don't worry though, your Geek in Disguise has some good news!
There is a lot of free
software and open
source software out there. Click on the previous links for an
explanation of free vs. open source.

OpenOffice is an
open source office suite for Windows, Mac and other operating
systems with excellent word processing, spreadsheet, presentation
and other office tools. Google also offers free online Office tools
and makes your application and documents available online at
http://docs.google.com
Mozilla Firefox
is an excellent open source Internet browser (like the familiar
Internet Explorer) loaded with features called extension.
The add blocker completely
remove banner and ads from web pages and the bookmark sync
lets you access you bookmarks from any PC running Firefox and the
bookmark sync extension.
TurboCash is an
open source program for managing your personal finances.
The Gimp is a an advanced
photo and image editing application.
The Eraser is file
shredding tool. It will completely and securely wipe a file so that
it cannot be recovered anymore. Use it to wipe your sensitive files.