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1.
Do I need Windows and a PC to run these programs?
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This guide assumes a few things.
"
It is assumed that you are running a computer running the Windows
operating system. At time of writing the current Windows OS is Windows
XP. If you are running an older version of Windows then you may find
that some of the programs will not run. Versions of Windows that the
program will work on are listed in the first section of the book.
" It is also assumed that you have an internet connection or access to
one.
" A basic degree of computer proficiency is presumed. You should know
how to download files from the internet and be capable of installing
and uninstalling software.
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2.
Are all these progams free of viruses and spyware etc?
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Computer
users should scan any file from an external source (especially those
downloaded from the internet) with an up to date anti-virus program.
This will minimize the chance of your system becoming infected with a
virus.
Spyware
and other malicious code is also a big concern today and some people
have reservations about free software for fear that it will be laden
with spyware. The fact is that spyware in any software is an ongoing
concern (spyware has been found in paid software numerous times) and
with certain types of free software (open source) the risk is virtually
non-existent. However, it pays to be vigilant and if you perform the
right computer security housekeeping then you should remain safe from
viruses, spyware and other malicious code. This guide covers all of the
software you need to do this and none of it need cost you a cent.
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3.
Is it really freesoftware?
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That
may seem like a silly question but you might be surprised to know that
there a are a few different interpretations of the term. The free
software arena can get quite political (there is actually a whole
movement concerning free software) and various software creators offer
different 'free' licensing.
That
said, the politics and virtues of the open source movement, Creative
Commons and GPL is outside the scope of this guide. While these may be
valid issues for discussion they are not what this book is about. This
book is about how you can get software to suit your needs without
paying for it - legally, of course!
So,
for the purposes of this book free software is any software that you
can both obtain and use legally without paying, or being asked to pay,
for it. That is, the software is available to you for your use free of
charge. This is my only criterion for our purposes here. Our purpose is
purely functional - we want software solutions that will enable us to
perform our computing tasks without having to spend money.
I
am not going to enter here into any philosophical debate about true
freedom and what is and is not truly free software but I must inform
you of a few different varieties of free software you are going to meet
in this book:
"
Some may show advertising (usually fairly subtle) when used. These ads
don't affect the functionality of the software and are a way for the
software creator to support the software while giving it away to users
for free.
" Others may be a 'Lite' or 'Special Edition' (SE) of a paid version.
In this case, while still being fully functional the free version will
not have some of the features available in the full version. This is a
way of companies generating business for their other products by giving
a basic version away and encouraging users who want more powerful
features to upgrade or purchase a paid version.
" Free online registration may be required in order to download,
activate or continue using the software past an initial period.
Sometimes registering is not essential but you will be offered an
incentive to register. Usually the information required is minimal.
" Certain programs are only free for personal use and those wishing to
use the software for business or commercial purposes must purchase a
different version.
" Companies may offer their software for free but make money from
charging for support and documentation.
" Some of the software you may come across will be in alpha or beta
testing. This means that they are in what is like a pre-release testing
phase and may still be somewhat unstable or have bugs yet to be fixed.
Usually (unless the program is brand new) you will find the 'latest
stable version' also available for download on the site.
" Some of the program creators may give you the option of making a
voluntary donation if you choose.
" The most 'free' programs are those with no restrictions on use and
where you may even modify the code and create your own version and
distribute it.
You
will not find any shareware (where you may download the program to try
but if you continue to use it your are expected and sometimes asked
(via a nag screen) to pay for it and register it) or 'free' trial
software (where you can download and use the program for a period of
time before you must purchase it or it becomes crippled or ceases to
function) mentioned in this book. Neither will you find details or
instructions on how to pirate or obtain pirated software. None of these
scenarios meet our criteria of being available for use legally without
paying or being asked to pay.
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4.
Why would anyone offer free software?
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As
you may have gleaned from above there are various reasons why software
may be offered for free: companies can gain exposure for more powerful
products they have for sale, some may think of it as 'lead generation',
some programmers love to create software and gain satisfaction and
gratification from offering their creations to others without seeking
payment (although, some will accept donations), others believe strongly
in no one company or person owning certain software and that with the
program being 'open' to one and all to modify a much more superior
product is created. I'm sure there are other reasons including
accumulating good karma and the simple fact that some people are just
plain generous!
Whatever the reason, it's all good news for us!
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5.
I've seen heaps of free software sites on the internet. What's the point of this one?
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I
figure you bought this book because you want to know where you can get
your hands on software that's going to be able to do what you want it
to do without it costing you a cent. Am I right? Good, thought so. Then
let's get to it!
I
have tried to make this selection the best and free-est (meaning with
the least restriction, obligation and exposure to advertising) while
meeting my single criteria and I have also endeavoured to give an
alternative unless one program is way ahead of the competition and
there really is no contest (in my humble opinion, of course).
Naturally
my selection is subject to my own personal biases and is by no means
exhaustive. There are thousands of programs out there and there are
more being written every day. What I present to you here are the best
ones I have found and/or used in ten years of searching out free
software to use.
Whatever
computing task you need to perform, chances are that there is a free
software program out there that will do it for you. The software
presented in this guide are the essentials that will meet the
requirements of the greatest majority of users. Should you need a more
specific application you will be well equipped to find it for free (if
it is available) after reading this guide.
Now,
I know you're probably short on time and you probably don't want to
waste money either so I'm not going to 'pad' this book up with lots of
pretty screenshots to make it look bigger and waste your paper and ink.
I'm going to keep it brief and to the point. I'll tell you what you
need to know before you go to the internet (I'll tell you the web
addresses) to check the full features and look at all the pretty online
presentations and screenshots and then download it if you choose.
This
is going to be your ultimate reference guide to finding and acquiring
all the software you need to perform the tasks you want to perform on
your computer for normal personal use and a heck of a lot of software
that you can also use for business or commercial use. The accompanying
videos will even show you how to get up and running quickly or begin to
find your way around with some of the programs. And, of course, the
best news is that as dictated by my single criteria for inclusion in
this book, none of this software is going to cost you a cent!
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6.
Is free software worth it?
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Another
dumb question? Again, you'd be surprised how many people think that if
something costs more it must be better and that if it costs nothing it
must be worthless. This is not the case with software at all.
Others
think that if free software won't work properly, will be poorly
designed, will crash their system or be laden with viruses and spyware
etc. The truth is that these concerns are not restricted to users of
free software but to users of any software. In actual fact, a lot of
open source software (where anyone can amend or add to the source code)
has been shown to have far less bugs in the code than comparable
software by virtue of the fact that there are so many more people able
to work on it to make it better. Still, there is a lot of junk out
there - junk that you pay for and junk you can get for free. The trick
is to know your options, be careful of your choices and make an
informed decision and that's where this guide comes in.
You
think using free software can save you some cash? You betcha! Let's
look at some figures. In the first column below are some well-known,
popular and expensive programs that many computer users buy because the
figure they need it and they don't know of any alternative. Column two
lists the price you could expect to pay if you bought this software
(prices are from Amazon.com or the product website and are correct at
time of writing). Column three shows a free software alternative (and
in many cases I'll give you more than one alternative) and of course
there is no column four because the alternatives are free.
Buy It Price Get It Free
Microsoft Office Std 2003 $339.00 Open Office
Adobe Photoshop CS2 $559.00 The GIMP
Adobe Acrobat Std $264.99 PDF995
Microsoft Frontpage $169.99 NVU
ACDSee $46.99 XnView
Adobe Audition $299.00 Audacity
Norton Antivirus $40.00 AVG
Norton Firewall $34.88 ZoneAlarm
WinZip $29.88 IZArc
Roxio Easy CD & DVD Burning $24.99 CD Burner XP Pro
CuteFTP $39.99 CoreFTP
Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing $17.88 TuxType
Registry Mechanic $29.95 EasyCleaner
GetRight $25.00 Fresh Download
FeedDemon $29.95 Newzie
Nova Backup $29.95 Syncback
MindManager X5 $194.65 FreeMind
That's a grand total of US$2176.09!
And that's only considering 17 programs out of 77 that we look at in this guide!
Look
at the total of column two and compare that to what you paid for this
book. Are you starting to see the value here? And that is only a
selection of about 70 programs covered in this guide!
Granted,
many of the free alternative aren't a feature-for-feature match,
particularly with some of the more powerful features but you will find
they cover the most commonly used features (those used by your average
computer user - not power users) quite nicely thank you very much and
some go much further.
So,
let's get it clear that while I'm in no way saying that these free
alternatives are the absolute equal of the comparison paid software. I
am saying that these free alternatives will allow most users to perform
the tasks that they would otherwise purchase the other software for.
Obviously
each program is different and you will find features in some of the
free software in this book that you won't find in the expensive
competition. A standout example is the ability to convert a document to
PDF from inside OpenOffice - this is a feature that Microsoft Office
does not offer. Most Office users would purchase Adobe Acrobat to
perform this task. Not you, because you're smarter than that. You know
that the best things in life truly are free:
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7.
I don't want to buy Windows, is there such thing as a totally free software solution?
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Imagine
if you could get all your software for free - including the operating
system (and what's more the operating system didn't crash all the
time!) And imagine you didn't have to hunt around for it from one
corner of the web to another. Imagine it was all bundled together with
the operating system.
Pure fantasy?
No.
Linux
is an operating system that you've probably heard of before but have
you tried it? Linux comes in many flavours (called distributions) and
most of them come bundled with a huge collection of software to cover
all but the most arcane needs and there's even more available (and easy
to find) on the web.
There
are many distributions because the source code is open source so there
are many people all over the world working on it, fixing bugs and
creating and packaging new distributions. You might think this might be
a case of 'too many cooks' spoiling the broth but, on the contrary, the
sheer number of people who have access to and contribute to the code
gives Linux code an extremely low error rate per line of code. Other
open source software benefits from this effect as well.
Some
of the more popular (and easy to use) Linux distributions are Fedora
Core, SUSE and Mandrake. I have found Mandrake the most user friendly
out of the few distributions I have tried. So, if you want totally free
software and a more pleasant computing experience (I'm not going to kid
you, there will be a bit of a learning curve) I urge you to give Linux
a try. I think you'll like it.
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8.
I like getting all my software for free but I don't want to be a 'leach'. How can I contribute or give back?
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I
think you will agree that the selection of software presented in this
guide is of a high standard and that although these applications may be
free they definitely have value. For one reason or another the
developers (sometimes working alone and sometimes in whole communities)
of these applications have seen fit to offer them to us free of charge.
They have borne the cost (time, energy and money) of the softwares
creation and ask for very little in return.
I
suggest to you that if you find any of these programs particularly
useful - see if you can find some way to 'give something back' in
whatever way you see fit - anything to contribute towards keeping the
software free. It need not be monetary, developers are always
interested in feedback and who wouldn't appreciate a simple 'thank you'
email that says someone values and appreciates what you have given
them. Whatever you do, spread the word around, tell your friends - free
software is good!
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9.
I've installed some free software and now I'm having problems. How can I get help or support?
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Generally
free software comes with no support and no warranty, which means if
things go awry you're on your own. Or are you? Many popular free
programs will have a dedicated following or user base on the internet
and often you can reach these people via the website offering the
program. Look for a forum or users forum link. If there is a forum you
can search for the answer to your problem or post a question for other
users to answer. Of course, you should also check for a support link on
the website or a FAQ.
Most
software comes with a Help file and often a user guide which you may
have to visit the website to access. If a user guide is available make
this your first port of call. I know no one likes to read these things
but often they contain just the answer you're looking for.
You
can also just search for an answer to your particular problem using
google (or another search engine). You may have to try a few different
wordings or phrases but more often than not you will not be the first
or only person to experience any particular problem and chances are
someone else has put a solution somewhere on the web.
An
ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, they say, so be careful
to back up regularly and uninstall unwanted programs correctly using
the programs own uninstaller or the Add/Remove Programs function in the
Windows Control Panel. These two things alone can save you a whole
world of pain.
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