Save Money with Free Software Alternatives

Avoid blowing your budget without sacrificing productivity. Try these software alternatives and save some serious cash!

Paint.net has been awarded by CNET, PCWorld, Softpedia, and several others for it's powerful tools. It was originally intended to be a replacement for Microsoft Paint, developed by a Microsoft undergrad, but evolved into much more. Unless you are a serious designer (and perhaps even then) there is little you will miss by using this freebie gem rather than PhotoShop. It has many of the same features and abilities as PhotoShop.

Cash saved: $649.00 for the full version of PhotoShop

I keep an updated version of AVG handy on a USB drive. There have been numerous times that we've gotten viruses on our computers at work (I'm the primary technology contact) that our corporately licensed McAfee has not been able to eliminate, yet AVG could. This all depends on how quickly the software development teams learn of and release fixes for new viruses, of course - but I have found AVG to be just as effective, if not more-so in some cases, as any paid anti-virus software. There are paid versions of AVG which are reported to be even better, but the free version serves my purposes at home just fine.

Cash saved: $35- $50 per year

OpenOffice.org is an open-source office suite that allows word processing, spreadsheets, presentations similar to PowerPoint, databases similar to Access, and plenty of other features similar to those of Microsoft Office. It can read and write .doc files, .xls files, and .mdb files.

OpenOffice Progams and their Microsoft Similarities:

Write - Similar to Word
Calc - Similar to Excel
Impress - Similar to PowerPoint
Draw - Similar to Visio
Base - Similar to Access

Cash saved - $149.95 - $499.95 depending on the version

Because OpenOffice.org doesn't include an email client, an alternative solution to Outlook is necessary. There are many notable alternatives, including Thunderbird, Zimbra, Windows Live Mail (if you have Vista or Windows 7), and FreeMailCommander. I use eM Client because is has a calendar. Windows Live Mail has a calendar, but I have Windows XP so that isn't an option for me. I use Gmail, and eM Client allows me to synch my Gmail calendar with the client as well.

KompoZer is a WYSIWYG application for Web Developers powered by Mozilla. It allows for the creation of great Websites with little HTMl knowledge, has integrated FTP, CSS capabilities, the ability to edit raw code, insert forms, tables, cells, you name it. With this software you can create Websites like a pro on the cheap.

Cash saved: $399.00

Malwarebytes

Malwarebytes is another freebie program that I keep handy on my USB drive. Malwarebytes provides a variety of tools used to identify and remove malicious software. I know first hand that reputable IT companies (such as Gannet Fleming) use this software regularly on their client's computers. It is an invaluable tool for identifying underlying threats and spyware that will slow your computer down significantly.

Piriform Ccleaner

CCleaner is excellent for removing unnecessary files that are taking up space on your hard drive without your knowledge, and optimizing the performance of your PC. It clears internet caches, temporary files, cookies, un-wanted registry entries, and log files for recent documents, internet history, etc.

Note of caution: If you use career specific software (such as PCLaw), disable the registry cleaning aspect of CCleaner before you run it.

SorceForge Startup Manager

A significant amount of the software that you install includes code that makes it start up automatically when you boot up your computer and run discreetly in your system tray. There is no need for programs such as Quicktime, iTunes, Adobe Reader, various messenger programs and quick-launch toolbars to boot up automatically when you start your computer. It hogs valuable memory and slows start-up. SourceForge Startup Manager allows you to select what you want and don't want to start up automatically. Of course, these programs will still be available when you want them, but they won't start automatically unless you tell them to. Why waste the resources unless you plan to use the program?

I must also add that although all of the software listed above is FreeWare, the developers of each program welcome donations (via their own Websites) in order to further OpenSource development and keep such tools generally free. I hope that you find this information useful. If you have other recommended software alternatives, please feel free to add them in the comments section below!