Using the internet: Free alternatives on the internet
By Gerard Evans
Are there such things?
The internet is full of free legal alternatives to the things we pay a fortune for in PC World or on Amazon. Often they're just as good as what we're using already and sometimes they're better. Should we be suspicious of free things on the internet? No such thing as a free lunch, if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is etc?
Well yes, we should be. The internet, just like the real world, contains baddies who are ready to trip you up. But!... the good news is there IS such a thing as a free lunch, and dinner and breakfast. You just have to know where to look. Here are a few genuine freebies:
Firefox
Did you know that you can have more than one web browser on your computer? A web browser is the software you use to visit websites. If you're using a PC (as opposed to an Apple Mac), then you'll have Internet Explorer already installed.
But there are (better, in my opinion) browsers out there. Mozilla Firefox is one of them. Simply download it and then enjoy the amazing enhancements you can get – also for free – called Plugins. One of my favourites is the Fast Dial plug in, which gives you a chance to develop a series of short cuts to your favourite websites.
Open Office
Whilst we're at it, there's a free alternative to Microsoft Office available as well. Open Office gives you a perfectly fine alternative to Word, Excel, Powerpoint etc – in fact, everything except Outlook (the organiser / diary part of Office). As well as being free, you can save all your documents in Microsoft format (eg .doc .xls) so all your still-paying friends will be able to share your documents. Personally I haven't used Office since I installed Open Office – I've never looked back!
Google docs etc
In the past, search engines expanding into other services has spelled the end for them, but Google seem to have taken their time in getting this right, so a visit to https://www.google.com/accounts/Login is well worth a look.
Download all the above and you'll be opening up a whole universe of possibilities. Indeed, the above is just the tip of the iceberg, here a more treasure troves for you to explore:
There is a school of thought, however, that in the future we'll be storing all our documents online. Well, I say the future, but it's already happening. Google docs lets you create and store text, presentation and spreadsheet documents (the equivalent of Word, Excel and Powerpoint). Just go here and register and you'll be able to treat yourself to the myriad ways in which Google is expanding it's services.
Alternative to Disk Cleanup
Alternative To Notepad
Disk Defragmenter
Alternative To Calculator
Alternative To WinZip
Alternatives to Paint
GIMP Advanced image editor with functionality similar to Adobe Photoshop.
Alternatives to Windows Search
Alternatives to Add/Remove Programs
Alternatives to Windows Explorer
Alternatives to Windows Update
Alternatives to Outlook Express / Windows Mail
Alternatives to Windows Firewall
Sound Recorder
Audacity Record, mix, and apply effects to sounds in this fully featured audio editor.
CD/DVD Burning Functionality
Alternatives to Windows Sidebar
Please feel welcome to ask any questions pertaining to this article in our forum, and to suggest topics for forthcoming columns.
Gerard Evans runs Abisti Web Design.
- Don't write off all free alternatives as too good to be true .
- Do examine them though and be careful if they ask you for anything in return .
- Try and be more open minded when it comes to different software - different isn't necessarily worse .
- Try and share any of the free alternatives you have found on our forum!
