Something for Nothing: FREE Alternatives to Popular Software!

Your business is going strong, and now you’re ready to expand a little bit, which includes adding another PC or laptop. Just as when buying a car you need to consider insurance, mileage, and maintenance in the price, it’s important to look at additional software costs when choosing a new computer. Whether popular software programs are “included” on your new system or you purchase them separately, you’re paying for them one way or another, and the costs can add up fast. A great way to save on these costs is to use freeware programs. While you might give up a few bells and whistles, many of these programs are surprisingly full-featured and robust and can do most, if not all, of the work their high-priced counterparts were designed for. Check out these freeware alternatives to popular software: The Popular Choice: MS Office Standard Edition: $399.95 The Alternatives: Google Docs – In Google’s quest to rule the world of technology and information, they have put together an outstanding suite of office document programs. With this free application set, you’ll not only be able to upload and edit MS Office Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents, but you can create documents from scratch and save them as Office docs. The newest features of Google Docs allow you to upload any file, share folders and documents with anyone you choose, and even translate your documents into over 40 languages. Want templates? They’ve got templates ! OpenOffice – Another full-featured document app, Oracle’s OpenOffice is a great alternative to spending the big bucks. The program allows you to open, edit, create, and save any file with an MS Office file extension and provides very similar functionality to Office. It’s a great alternative to Google Docs when you have to work offline. OpenOffice also has hundreds of extensions available, from an Albanian spellchecker dictionary to templates for just about anything you can think of. And because it’s open source, new stuff is being added all the time. The Popular Choice: Adobe Photoshop CS4: $699.00 The Alternatives: The GIMP – GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) is described by CNET as, “One of the most powerful general-purpose image editors around,” and, “…eminently comparable to Photoshop.” What else needs to be said? While it’s missing a few of the capabilities you’ll get with Photoshop, chances are, you’d miss your 700 bucks more than you would those resources. Users also report fewer issues with freezing and a generally more glitch-free experience with The GIMP. Paint.NET – Top rated by PC World, CNET, and several others, Paint.NET is a powerful yet simple tool to edit and manipulate images and photos. The program boasts being the fasted image editor available, and unique features, like unlimited history (yes, literally anything you do to an image can be undone while it’s still open) make it a great alternative if you’re looking for a well-built, easy-to-use alternative for basic graphic functions. Again, you won’t get all the features of Photoshop with this one, but it does use layers and has much of the same functionality for zero cost. There are some great tutorials for newbie to advanced users, so it’s worth checking it out and seeing what Paint.NET can do for you. The Popular Choice: Norton Antivirus: $39.99 The Alternatives: AVG Antivirus Free Addition – AVG version 9 includes an antivirus/antimalware agent that provides plenty of virus protection, including auto-scanning of email as well as web downloads. One cool feature is its integrated link scanner, which alerts you to third-party code exploits, prior to a link being loaded. In other words, you mouse over a symbol next to a link in search results, and it will let you know if you’re about to visit a know malware site. You’ll also receive rapid virus database updates for as long as you have the software, and the improved functionality is 50% faster than previous versions. Norton might only be 40 bucks, but why waste it? Trend Micro HouseCall – If you’re looking for something a little less intrusive, HouseCall is a great alternative. Trend Micro used to offer this product through an online interface. Now you download it to your system and run it as needed. The scan is quick and effective, it offers detection and removal of viruses, Trojans, worms, unwanted browser plugins, and other malware, and updates of course are free. Because it’s not a background app like Norton or AVG, it won’t slow your system with warnings and auto scans. On the other hand, it doesn’t offer real-time protection, so weigh your needs against its features. The Popular Choice: Norton Utilities: $49.99 The Alternative: Advanced SystemCare Free – There’s a reason over 32 million people have downloaded IObit’s PC utility app. It works. If you’re looking to speed up your computer, eliminate registry issue, and clean up junk files – all at the click of a single button – look no further. Download this feature-packed program, and you’ll also have access to a very useful Internet booster, disk defragmenter, registry defragmenter, and a Smart RAM utility, which optimizes your PC’s RAM usage. CNET’s last review of this software was prior to some fantastic feature tweaks and additions, so we can’t wait to see an updated review. It’s sure to be 5 stars.