The Best things in Life are Free...

We all have probably heard it one time or another, but there is some truth in this old saying. This time, we'll take a look at some free applications and programs that rival their pricey duals. A quick search should bring up a link to download these if a URL is not given. Also, www.download.com makes a great tool for fetching some of these handy software apps.

Don't feel like spending $150 or more on Microsoft Office? Try Open Office!

It's 100% free and can be obtained at www.openoffice.org. In this little gem you'll find a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation software, database software and more. And it's compatible with Microsoft Office among others.

Watch TV on your PC without adding hardware: check out AnyTV from FDRlab. They say you can get thousands of TV and radio stations from around the world, but the results may vary. Either way, you'll still have plenty of watching/listening to do as you explore familiar stations and others you've probably never heard of before.

SPAM was the subject of a different article, but here's another tip: try Spamihilator. It'll catch email before it gets to your inbox and check it, and it has a recycle bin so you can retrieve the emails you actually wanted if it makes a mistake. Also contained in the program is the functionality to block senders and certain attachments, if you so desire.

Many are already aware that Firefox from Mozilla is an awesome browser, which some say is better and more secure than Internet Explorer. Why not give it a try? Go to www.mozilla.com. While you're there, check out their free email program Thunderbird.

Do you edit your own web page? Did you install Firefox yet? If so, you can put a free FTP application into the venerable browser. Do a search for FireFTP.

Savvy internet shoppers know to check for coupon codes before checking out, but why spend the extra time when you can make it easier and quicker? Try the coupon codes tool bar for Internet Explorer.

Can't play that file with Windows Media Player? No sweat! Download VLC Media Player, it'll play many things WMP (could this possibly mean wimp?) won't.

Photoshop costs a lot of money. Google's Picasa is free, and top-notch. Give it a whirl. Go to Google, and type Google Picasa in the search box.

Another image editor that rivals Photoshop is GIMP. Get it at www.gimp.org.

Software - Software and Applications