Computer club discussion

Copyright (c) 2008 Jim Edwards

I started writing this column way back in 1998 and one thing rates as true today as it did ten years ago: people love free stuff online. Free software tops the list of free things they love. People particularly love free software that solves annoying little problems, offers some fun, or saves them time and effort.

If you own a PC, the following free software will help you save time, enjoy a little fun, and protect yourself and your computer too.

** EULAlyzer **

Log on to www.javacoolsoftware.com and download the “EULAlyzer” software that helps you spot troublesome language in those “End User License Agreements.” You know, the software installation agreements we should all read, but normally we just click “Agree” and keep right on installing the software.

However, blindly agreeing to those EULAs means you could potentially consent to all sorts of unpleasant things, including your desktop getting assaulted by advertising “spyware” and worse. EULAlyzer helps you by analyzing virtually any EULA for trouble.

As they say on their site, “If you aren’t reading the license agreements, you have no idea what you could be agreeing to.”

** Want To Make A Movie? **

Ok, this software resides online instead of running on your PC. But that actually works out better because you only need a web browser to access it.

Log on to www.jumpcut.com and you can create your own cool videos to share on YouTube and other sites. No, it won’t make you into a Spielberg, but it can help you get a basic video done with text overlays and more without complicated software.

A must-look website for the online video newbie.

** Fast Photo Changes **

Did you ever need to resize a digital photo or just crop it?

Did you ever need to take a huge 8 mega-pixel photo and resample it to make it work as an email attachment?

Well log on to www.irfanview.com and install the “IrfanView” software that makes these two tasks easy as 1-2-3!

Though the software takes a bare-bones approach to look and feel, it does exactly what you need to resize and resample photos and images on the fly.

** Online Flash Games **

Everybody loves video games! Ok, well, maybe not everybody, but did you know that online gaming by adults represents the fastest growing segment of the game industry?

If you love to play games online (but hate to pay for them), then log on to www.Kongregate.com. This website boasts thousands of flash games you can play right in your web browser.

Sure, some of them are a complete waste of time, but, isn’t that what playing online games is all about? I guarantee you’ll find at least one game to enjoy on this ever-expanding site. (I admit I got hooked on “Desktop Tower Defense.”)

** Free Anti-Virus **

Log on to http://free.grisoft.com and download the free anti-virus protection. It doesn’t come with any tech support, but it sure beats running your computer without any protection.

I like AVG anti-virus products because they don’t seem to bog down your system the way Norton does and, in this case, you can’t beat the price.

The market for open source and free software is surging high with its appreciation in mainstream segment also. The free software products like Linux or others are moving from the walled boundaries of servers to desktops and laptops. Recently, launched Ultra low cost laptops were supported on Linux and that came as a major breakthrough for it to garner some spotlight from tech analysts.

But still the concept of free software and open source software is not clear with many of us. We are confused at the basic level and interchanging the terms for each other. We use the terms Free Source and Open Source interchangeably and get them confused with the concept that they are available for free.

To some extent the concept gels with what we consider “available for free” but not in complete sense. The word “free” is basically the misnomer. We confuse it with “free burgers” but it should be considered for “free speech”. No doubt that some softwares from both the communities are available for free of cost and are offered as free downloads but not all utilities.

The two communities working with the aim of offering freedom to developers are working in the same direction but are literally and fundamentally different in their approaches. Till 1998, they were more or less same but after that the two movements separated with a different prospective, a different philosophy, and different motives.

The commonality in both the approaches is the open availability of source code to developers but the aim backing this approach is different with both the communities.

Where Free Software Community lays stress on providing source code to developers with the aim that user is free to do what he wish with the software’s source code. It is more philosophical in nature.

However, Open Source believes in offering source code to users with the aim that collaborative efforts can bring more subtle results. It has motivation that users can freely provide their suggestions for the source code and can append it to the existing one if results provided are efficient enough.

Both the communities lay stress on redistribution of code with no restrictions but the principles and motivations are different.

Where one seeks the liberty provided to users; the other targets the development of more efficient software programs with collaborative approach. Against the philosophical methodology of Free Software Community, the Open Source Community is driven by more practical reasons.

To some years the movements were working as a common alliance and Open Source was used as a marketing term for free software to reduce the ambiguity; but to worst it added more problems. So finally the two movements parted and started their own way.

Where the software developed by open source are more or less fits to zero-cost category, nothing like that can be defined for free software. To define it better, nothing which is free of cost can be a tailored fit for both the communities but cannot be turned off even.

Open Source is opposite to original context of Free Software. Free Software aims the freedom of users but Open Source aims the collaborative approach. The former stresses that users can freely see, modify and redistribute the code but latter has the approach that users can see the code but cannot modify it to suit its needs. In OSS, the liberty availed is in accordance of specific licensing agreements allowing one to fiddle with the code.

Free Software values freedom offered to users but Open Source believes in team development of software. Where one can be attached to social movement, the other is a development methodology. Both are against the patents and proprietary software, but cannot go hand in hand due to disagreement on certain principles.

To ask you, is GNU/ Linux is a free software or open source software? Cannot answer surely; Linux is not an open source software but a product of free software community (as you are free to make modifications).

At crux, it can be said that both are different movements with differing principles but are fighting against the common objective “Proprietary Software”.

Debt free software, just another fast and effective substitute for debt solution comes our way to our exposure. This is the way information technology is. Just almost every life issue can be solved by software that does exactly what human can do as wrong as there are some instructions. But what is this debt free software and what does it do?

Most debt free software are made to fit in to any kind of debt no matter how serious it may be. When you purchase a debt free software you must be decided to put all your financial statements together while putting down your income and expenditure. Then you start feeding the program with the information according to what is required so that it can give you a possible figure you should work with to settle your debt.

With a debt free software you get to know of ways you can save money and avoid unnecessary spending. Also most of them will help you get free of debt with around four to five years if well followed, honored and utilized. Another important thing is the fact that you get to do it at the comfort of your home without anyone knowing what you are doing. The debt free software calculates and displays a step by step accelerated debt elimination plan. It also establishes a debt freedom date and continually monitors your progress. It will also show you how unplanned spending may affect your debt payoff. Debt free software is the best debt free tool that you cannot afford to miss in your home.

Examples of these debt free software are; rapid debt reducer, debt calculator, debt analyzer, debt eraser and many other countless software offers some even free downloads and trials. To get hold of these software visit the internet as always and you will even have a problem with choosing the best software. I mean they are countless. Using debt free software can be very cheap and since it promotes privacy it is the best for those who want to eliminate debt without the knowledge of the debt free companies and other people. Using a debt analyzer is not all demanding all you need to do is have readily available information and then enter the information and figures correctly as you are asked by the software. You will also avoid going for debt consolidation loans that only add to more debts on top of what you already have even if they relief your monthly figure.

Having debt free software at hard and utilizing it successfully can safe another person who is in debt. By following your footsteps he/she may walk a debt free life just like you are doing right now. Make use of that debt free software especially in the comfort of your home and honor it and you will not be sorry I promise. It is worth using debt free software by yourself and as a solution because it will not only solve that debt for now but it will help you stay out of debt for the rest of your life.

Poly Muthumbi is a Web Administrator and Has Been Researching and Reporting on Debt for Years. For More Information on DEBT FREE SOFTWARE, Visit Her Site at DEBT FREE SOFTWARE

In the present internet world, almost every home has a computer. You may use your computer for personal or business reasons, but you certainly have to look for software and applications that you need. Apart from the operating system, several applications including antivirus are essential for computers. Without protecting your computer, you cannot be safe. To find utility software, you have to search on the internet. You may find many commercial products that provide best service. However, if you want to save money, you have to look for free software.

Many people think that free software is something junk or garbage. They think that they cannot find a software with good features at zero cost. This is absolutely false. On the internet, there are several experts who wish to help their peers. These people design excellent applications and give them for free to make them popular. Also, you won’t have to worry about copyrights issue while using the software as the software is available for free. Just like commercial products, you will find updates for free software as well. The user interface and features will be definitely competent if you find a right software.

Antivirus program is an essential software that must be present in your computer. Without antivirus program, you cannot work or browse safely using your computer. Several websites on the internet provide free antivirus download. Avg free 8.0 is a very popular antivirus software that can be downloaded and used for free. This is a well known antivirus tool used in several thousands of computers in the world. Installation and use of Avg free 8.0 is easy even for a novice computer user. This software gives protection against viruses and spyware.

When you choose antivirus programs, you have to make sure that you download only legitimate ones. If you don’t choose a proper program, you are at the risk of increasing computer vulnerability. Just because a program is advertised as free, you should not choose it. Free antivirus download such as Avg free 8.0 constantly updates its database to protect your computer against latest threats. This is an important feature that you have to look in any antivirus program. Moreover, you have to be provided good customer support by the developers. When you start using any software, you are likely to get many questions and it is important that all your questions be resolved to make the software usable.

Free software has to be downloaded from internet with more caution. Several spammers and malicious programmers send out spyware and malware along with some software and make them available for free. You can escape from scams, when you download free antivirus download from legitimate websites. These websites don’t give you torrents for download. So, you can be sure that the file you download does not contain virus or any other malicious program. Legitimate websites provide you access to many free applications more than just antivirus programs. All those downloads are freeware applications that can be downloaded and used as many times you want to as many computers you need.