Saving Money FTW
Alternatives to expensive software
March 05, 2007
So, you want to get your hands on some software, but can't afford the products? The greatest illusion ever created is that you have to pay for quality software. This is a fact that many Linux users have known for years now. Why use Windows or Mac, when Linux is free?
Each of us, however, have our personal reasons for personal choice of OS software (I predominantly use Windows XP, because it's the platform a majority of TheTrukstoP.com visitors have - I have used Mac OS X and various forms of Linux - and enjoy all three platforms). People choose their OS based on familiarity or the need for change - sometimes the argument for reliability comes up, though all OS's have their positives and negatives.
But what about other commonly used software? Surely there are better alternatives than having to fork out $600 for Photoshop?
You could jump on the bit Torrent band wagon and wave your pirate flag - but let's assume that you're not comfortable with doing this. Believe it or not, there are actually people out there that have moral objections to downloading licensed software - or any copyrighted material for that matter.
Fair enough - so if you're in this situation, what do you do? Fortunately, there are alternatives...
Productivity Software:
When it comes to productivity software, Microsoft rules the market. Office has been a best selling package for what seems like eons. It seemed for a very long time that the only way to get a word processor was to pay for one. Thankfully, many people are turning over to an alternative that has become extremely popular over the last couple of years: OpenOffice.
OpenOffice is an open-source project and is available for Windows, Linux, Sun Solaris, Mac OS X, and Free BSD. It's a free downloadable productivity package that includes a slideshow presentation program (Impress), a component for mathematical equations (Math), productivity graphics package (Draw), spreadsheet (Calc), database (Base), and a word processor (Writer).
Many people are turning to OpenOffice as a viable solution for personal, home, and business solutions - this may be old news to some, but OpenOffice is helping to expand people's awareness of the alternatives available to people.
CD/DVD Burning:
Not happy with the optical burning solution on your PC, but can't afford the likes of Roxio or Nero? There are alternatives. Possibly the best known solution for free CD and DVD burning is Burn4Free, a freeware package that does nearly everything their expensive competitors do.
You can make data discs, audio discs (from CDA, FLAC, M3U, MP1, MP2, MP3, OGG, WAV, WavPack, and WMA); make backup DVD copies, and much more. The program also supports dual layer DVD, multiple languages, and the creation, storage, and editing of ISO. Burn4Free is designed for use with Windows.
Video Editing:
With online video becoming so popular that it's almost integrated into our daily web surfing patterns, it is tempting to get involved at sites like YouTube. Unfortunately, some of the more well-known video editing software packages cost more than just a pretty penny.
Enter t@b ZS4 - it's video-editing and compositing software - totally free and available for download online. Even better, their website offers compatibility with Windows, OS X, and Linux. The program has over 150 built in effects.
Here's an example of what you can make with ZS4:
Digital Artwork:
The ILM special effects wizard John Knoll was on a winner when he first created Photoshop with his colleagues. Unfortunately, in the modern context, it not only costs an arm and leg for a copy, but you'd be hard pressed to get a copy without giving up your first born. The sheer cost of modern Adobe Photoshop packages are so outrageous that I would hazard a guess and say that as far as pirated software is concerned, it's right up there with Windows as being the most pirated worldwide.
Thankfully, there are others out there who agree with the fact that the pricing is excessive. GIMP is an open-source digital imaging software package available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. The premise behind the software is similar to that of Photoshop, and offers tools that are just as, if not more so, than those offered by the expensive programs. Additionally, people who support GIMP make a lot of cool filters also - it is well worth checking out.
PDF Conversion / Creation:
Let's say you have this neat document that you need to convert into a PDF document. If you don't have the cash for Adobe Acrobat, there was once a time when it would suck to be you. Not anymore...
PDFCreator is a free tool for creating PDF documents from most Windows applications. It offers excellent encryption, and also is capable of generating image files instead of PDFs as well. The greatest thing about it is that it's free and open-source. PDFCreator is made for Windows platforms.
Recovery Tools:
At Cameron University Library, where I work, we have this neat little software package that I use to recover data from corrupted disks for our patrons. Unfortunately, it also costs a pretty penny, and I often wondered whether there was a free alternative.
There are a few - but one that seems to be popular over at Download.com is called PC Inspector File Recovery. The package is freeware, and can be used to detect old partitions, and recover data amongst the most challenging of damaged or corrupted drives.
Personal Finance:
Some people don't like using spreadsheets for their personal budgets. They prefer to use specialist software for the task - but packages like Microsoft Money and Quicken are going to count as expenses in your personal finance software anyway. It kind of defeats the purpose of monitoring your money to save money, huh?
There are free alternatives for this, and one is a package called AceMoney Lite 3.9. It's a freeware personal finance manager and has all of the features its pricy competitors have: spending trackers, budget creation tools, and investment trackers. AceMoney Lite is designed for Windows, but also works on Linux with Wine.
GPS Software:
The convenience of GPS software is such a craze. Personally, I don't understand a suburban need for it, but people seem to dig it, and yet they're willing to pay money for it.
If you're a PocketPC person, there's a free package called BlueGPS 0.1 that you can check out. If you're after a laptop solution, checkout Google Maps with GPS Tracker - it's a free package available at Download.com and developed by Golenfound Software.
Encyclopedia:
If you're buying Encarta, you're a tool. Go to Wikipedia. Seriously, not only is it free, but you can contribute to it as well.
Anti-Virus Software:
Many people lean towards the "big names" for anti-virus solutions. However, many of these "big names" perform very poorly, and are often expensive. If you feel more comfortable paying for an anti-virus solution, I would recommend Kaspersky.
But there are many of us who either can't afford these packages, who refuse to pay for them, or both. If you're happy trying a free solution, I highly recommend using Avast. Not only is it very good at catching the bad stuff that may be hiding on your PC, it isn't a memory hog. The self-updating feature is excellent also.
Firewall:
There are free firewall solutions, and if you want to go for one, go for the one that's been out there for free the longest: Zone Alarm. There is a premium version, but the free version has all the important stuff - and it's easy to use as well. Side note: Zone Alarm has recently been bought out by CheckPoint, so their site is really pushing the premium content hard - you have to dig around to find the free version; or you could just click here.
Anti-Spyware:
I hate spyware. But one thing I hate more than spyware are companies charging ridiculous costs for anti-spyware tools that just don't work. Your best bet in combating spyware is using a multiple program approach - and all of these programs are free.
My first recommendation would be to use at least 2 scanning tools. Spybot Search and Destroy and Ad-Aware are the two I use. Why two? I've found that Spybot picks up on things that Ad-Aware doesn't, and vice versa. Using two is the way to go. & better yet - they're free.
Two other tools I often recommend act like "firewalls against spyware": Spyware Blaster and Spyware Guard. Both are easy to use, easy to update, and of course, free.
There you have it. No need to run for the pirates or waste money while these options are out there. Bear in mind, these are not the only free packages available. There are tons of free programs online if you dig deep enough - and you might find that they may be more suitable to what you need to do than what I've suggested.
Seriously - if you go open-source and freeware, you're not only getting quality software made by people that really care about what they're coding and developing - but you're potentially saving thousands of dollars. & no-one can complain about saving money...
So, you want to get your hands on some software, but can't afford the products? The greatest illusion ever created is that you have to pay for quality software. This is a fact that many 
The convenience of GPS software is such a craze. Personally, I don't understand a suburban need for it, but people seem to dig it, and yet they're willing to pay money for it.
I hate spyware. But one thing I hate more than spyware are companies charging ridiculous costs for anti-spyware tools that just don't work. Your best bet in combating spyware is using a multiple program approach - and all of these programs are free.
There you have it. No need to run for the pirates or waste money while these options are out there. Bear in mind, these are not the only free packages available. There are tons of free programs online if you dig deep enough - and you might find that they may be more suitable to what you need to do than what I've suggested.
