Recommended Software

• Media - movie player, picture viewer, photo editor, photomosaic renderer,
• Internet - browsers, mail clients
• Office – document, spreadsheat, math, presentation programs
• Other – computer security, maintenance, operating systems,

• Image Viewer : IrfanView

  

  • Cost: Free
  • Website: http://www.irfanview.com/
  • Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IrfanView
  • Why I Reccomend It:
    

    It’s simple, lightweight (weighing in at only 1.3 MB installed), has intuitive shortcut keys, and handles most image file types including those associated with Adobe’s Photoshop. It also has basic photo-editing options such as resizing, cropping, and image rotation. It can perform automated functions (batch-conversions) that allow you to easily rename a whole folder of files or run certain photo-editng options (ex: resizing digital camera images) without having to go through and edit them individually.

• Image / Photo Editor : Gimp

  

  • Cost: Free Website: http://www.gimp.org/
  • Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GIMP
  • Why I Reccomend It:
    

    It’s pretty much an alternative to Adobe’s Photoshop software but it’s free.

• Video Player : VLC Player

  

  • Cost: Free
  • Website: http://www.videolan.org
  • Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VLC_media_player
  • Why I Reccomend It:
    

    It’s rhobust, plays practically every type of video file that’s out there (even DVDs) without the hassles of having to install extra codecs or plugins, and it can also stream video over a newtork. The player is lightweight (30 MB installed) and occupies less than 20 MB of RAM while playing videos – depending on the source.

• Photo-Mosaics : AndreaMosaic

  • Cost: Free
  • Website: http://www.andreaplanet.com/andreamosaic/
  • Wikipedia: n/a Why I Reccomend It:
    

    It’s a fun program that allows you to create a photomosaic using your own photos.

• Internet Browser : Firefox

  

  • Cost: Free
  • Website: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/
  • Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozilla_Firefox
  • Why I Reccomend It:
    

    Firefox is a greater, safer alternative to Microsoft’s IE when it comes to surfing the net. It’s pop-up blocker works wonders and they do a much better job than IE at preventing spyware and other malicious software from compromising your computer (which means your friends will get less ads telling them how they can increase the size of their bank accounts by sending money to Nigeria to buy Viagra). Firefox also follows the rules when it comes to web standards which is always a plus for developers and users alike.

• Email and News Client : Thunderbird

  

  • Cost: Free
  • Website: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/
  • Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozilla_Firefox
  • Why I Reccomend It:
    

    Thunderbird, much like Firefox (both part of Mozilla), is a safer alternative to Microsoft’s Outlook and Outlook Express products. Unfortunately, it does not have synchronization capabilites with Windows Mobile devices via ActiveSync.

• Office Suites : Open Office

  

  • Cost: Free
  • Website: http://www.openoffice.org/index.html
  • Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozilla_Firefox
  • Why I Reccomend It:
    

    Free alternative to Microsoft’s Office Suite.

• Computer Maintenance: CCleaner

  

  • Cost: Free
  • Website: http://www.ccleaner.com/
  • Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CCleaner
  • Why I Reccomend It:
    

    It helps keep computers running smoothly by getting rid of the ‘fat’ found in a system’s registry, browser cache, and hard drives. It also has a helpful uninstall utility.

• Computer Security: Spybot – Search and Destroy

  • Cost: Free
  • Website: http://www.safer-networking.org/index2.html
  • Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spybot
  • Why I Reccomend It:
    

    It removes malware, spyware, adware and other malicious software by scanning your computer, seeking them out, and removing them.

• Operating System : Ubuntu

  

  • Cost: Free
  • Website: http://www.ubuntu.com/
  • Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_(Linux_distribution)
  • Why I Reccomend It:
    

    It’s a free alternative to Microsoft’s Windows and Apple’s OSX platforms and, much like Macs, it is not prone to viruses. It also has a neat graphical user interface… I’m not great at command line.

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