It’s Free

1. It’s Free By Marc Long

2. Define Free • Freeware • Freeware is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee. • Proprietary freeware allows authors to contribute something for the benefit of the community, while at the same time allowing them to retain control of the source code, future direction of development and preserve its business potential. Wikipedia

3. More or Less Free • Open Source Defined • Open source software is a way of developing software in an open community. • General Public License • Defines the Open Source envirnonment • Shareware • Shareware can be downloaded from the Internet and is often known as “try before you buy.” This software often has a trial period. If you like it, you are expected to register it and pay for it. Wikipedia

4. SourceForge • SourceForge.net is a source code repository and acts as a centralized location for software developers to control and manage open source software development. • As of August 2008, SourceForge.net hosts more than 180,000 projects. • sourceforge.net attracted at least 28 million visitors annually. Wikipedia

5. Downloading Free Software • Finding the right link takes time • Watch out for the misleading links • These links are there to get you off track and have you buying something else.

6. Downloading/Installing • Download from kosher sites • Check your download for viruses • Install just what you want • Avoid news letters • Extra toolbars • Watch for unknown services and startup programs. (Run … MsConfig)

7. Audio • Audacity (Audio recording, editing, playback) • http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/ • Lame (Use Audacity to export MP3 files) • http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/faq?s=install&item=lame-mp3 • CN Levelator (levels out volume inconsistencies) • http://www.conversationsnetwork.org/levelator • Itunes (Manage and play digital music) • http://www.apple.com/itunes/ • Videora (ipod converter) • http://www.videora.com/en-us/Converter/iPod/

8. Image Editing Software • Gimp (Generic paint/photo program) • http://www.gimp.org/downloads/ • Paint.Net (Generic paint/photo program) • http://www.getpaint.net/download.html • Autostitch (Glues similar pictures together) • http://www.cs.ubc.ca/~mbrown/autostitch/autostitch.html • Picture Resizer (Resizes multiple images easily) • http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/Downloads/powertoys/Xppowertoys.mspx

9. Screen Recording • Jing (Video and audio screen recording) • CamStudio 2.0 (Other versions are not free…records screen and audio activity and produces a video file) • http://camstudio.org/ (midway down the page) • http://camstudio.en.softonic.com/ • Hypersnap (Installed on district computers…records still images of your computer screen.) • http://www.hyperionics.com/

10. Video • Photo Story 3 (Story Telling with Digital Photos) • http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=92755126-a008-49b3-b3f4-6f33852af9c1&DisplayLang=en • VLC Player (Cross Platform Media Player) • http://www.videolan.org/vlc/ • Super (Video conversion software) • http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html

11. Utilities • PC Inspector Smart Recovery (Recover deleted, corrupt, formatted, media) • http://www.snapfiles.com/get/smartrecovery.html • Password Safe (Store all your passwords in one place) • http://passwordsafe.sourceforge.net/ • File Renamer Basic (File renaming software) • http://www.sherrodcomputers.com/products_filerenamer.cfm

12. Publishing • MyPublisher (Software to create and print a photo album in a book format) • http://www.mypublisher.com/ • Blurb (Software to Publish your Blog) • www.blurb.com

13. Web 2.0 Tools • Second Life (Home ONLY …virtual worlds) • http://secondlife.com/ • Google Earth (Virtual Globe / Trip Planner) • http://earth.google.com/ • Skype (Voice Over IP – Communications Software) • http://www.skype.com/intl/en/download/skype/windows/ • Blogger (Create a free web log) • https://www.blogger.com/start • http://longchronicle.blogspot.com/ • Flickr (Home ONLY … Store photos online) • http://www.flickr.com/ • Photobucket (Home ONLY …Store photos online) • http://photobucket.com/ • Google Calendar, Reader, Docs, Photo, Web, etc. • http://www.google.com/reader

14. More Web 2.0 Tools • Twiddla (Whiteboarding tool) • http://www.twiddla.com • WetPaint (Create a Wiki) • http://www.wetpaint.com/ • VoiceThread (Thread) • http://voicethread.com • http://ed.voicethread.com

15. Calendar Stuff • Google / Outlook Calendar Synchronization • http://www.google.com/support/calendar/bin/answer.py?answer=89955 •  Google US Calendar Holidays • US32Holidays.ics

16. Calculators • Microsoft PowerCalc • http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/Downloads/powertoys/Xppowertoys.mspx • Online Math Graphing Calculator • http://my.hrw.com/math06_07/nsmedia/tools/Graph_Calculator/graphCalc.html

17. AntiVirus/AntiSypware • AVG (Free Antivirus software) • http://free.avg.com/ww.download-avg-anti-virus-free-edition • Spybot • http://majorgeeks.com/download2471.html • Adaware • http://majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=5947

18. Other More Technical Resources • Speak Easy (Test your home upload and download speed) • http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/ • VOIP Speed test • http://myspeed.visualware.com/voip/index.html • FTP Commander (FTP file transfer software) • http://www.tucows.com/preview/195124 • Wireshark (Packet capture software) • http://www.wireshark.org/download.html