Replace Clunky Expensive Software With Better Free Software

We all use software to get stuff done.  Some of the software we use cost a good chunk of change.  Maybe it came pre-loaded onto your computer or maybe you bought it off the shelf at a big-box store (please say you didn’t).

The great news is that a bunch of really smart programmers got tired of paying someone else for software they could build themselves. And wouldn’t you know it, the stuff they built is generally more reliable and all-around better than the expensive stuff.  How are they better?  All of the software listed below performs better (doesn’t slow down your computer … like Norton, McAffee, or Microsoft stuff) and features nearly all (and sometimes more) of the features their expensive counterparts offer.

Now don’t go throwing out the baby with the bath water. If you have some expensive software that works for you, use it!  But if you’re buying a new PC or building your own (I’ll write about how easy that is later), don’t pay extra for software before you give these great free titles a try.

Replace Internet Explorer with Firefox

Firefox download: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/

So IE is free, but if you haven’t already switched to Firefox, you should.  Firefox is customizable, faster, and more secure (because more viruses are written to attack IE) than IE.

Replace Outlook or Outlook Express with Thunderbird

Thunderbird download: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/thunderbird/

Thunderbird is a complete email solution.  The folks at Mozilla hit a home run here too.

Replace Microsoft Office with OpenOffice

OpenOffice download: http://www.openoffice.org/

Yep, OpenOffice does it all.  Word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, and databases.  It even opens MS Office files and can save your work in MS Office format so you can share your work with your MS Office user friends.  I’ve been using OpenOffice exclusively for my word processing (bye bye Word) and presentations (bye-bye PowerPoint) for 5 months now and I have no regrets.

Gotta be honest, I have 2 confessions to make here:

1. I’m an Excel junkie.  I just can’t quit.
2. Changing backgrounds in Impress (the OpenOffice PowerPoint replacer) is awkward.  That’s one nod to PowerPoint.

When it comes down to it, there really is no reason on pay over 200 bucks for MS Office unless you absolutely have to for work.

Replace Norton, McAfee, or TrendMicro with AVG, AdAware and SpyBot

As a past user of both Norton and McAfee, they kept me virus-free, but both programs slowed my PCs down to a crawl.  When I built my own PC, I researched the open source options and have been very pleased with what’s out there.

Using these 3 titles in conjunction will give you a near bullet-proof PC.

• AVG: http://free.avg.com/.  This is the basic anti-virus protection.  Scans your system and incoming email.
• AdAware: http://lavasoft.com/products/ad_aware_free.php. AdAware scans your system for tracking cookies and spyware.
• Spybot Search and Destroy: http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html SpyBot finds certain spyware and mal-ware that AdAware doesn’t.  Don’t ask me why, it just does.  Plus it has a really cool name.

There are lots of other great free programs out there. Just do a Google search on open-source software.  I’ve found several more good ones I’ll write about in a future post.

Good luck! Post a comment with your open source experience.  Has it worked for you?

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