February 7, 2006

Free software, can it be any good if it's free? The answer is yes. Lately, software manufacturers keep raising their prices and force people to upgrade to new versions.  A good example, Symantec used to charge $4 for an annual subscription for antivirus definitions.  That price has ballooned to $30.  For only a few dollars more, you can upgrade to the new version.  That's where they've got you.  Not only do they want you to buy the latest and greatest, they force you into it if you're software is more than a couple of years old by telling you they no longer support it, so they won't just let you update the definitions, even though, all said and done, that is all you need. 

Let's reminisce a moment.  In the days prior to the Internet, there were computer geeks all over the country who had "bulletin boards".  These were people who had a setup where you could call their computer via a modem and have access to local news and stuff, and you could download shareware programs to do any number of things, utilities, word processors, spread sheet programs, graphics programs, etc.  These programs were written by talented programmers who enjoyed creating programs and asked that if you tried their software, you make a donation to them, but if you didn't want to, you didn't have to.  That's how companies like McAfee got started.  Then larger companies buy them out and commercially distribute the programs for profit.  I know I'm straying from the subject, but keep in mind, most of the software we buy today was conceived as shareware.

Believe it or not, there are actually some people who just enjoy writing software and they make it available as freeware.  Now, is it any good?  Yes, I'll give you a few examples.  If you have a broadband connection, a firewall is a must have.  There are a lot of software packages you can buy like Norton Internet security, but why spend the money. There is a free program called Zone Alarm which will actually work better and it is totally free.  They usually have a paid version you can "upgrade to", but you don't need to spend the money.  There are several antivirus programs out there now.  The computer magazines tested the free programs and found their success rate at detecting viruses was as good as the "getting expensive" versions of Norton and McAfee.  The one I like to recommend now is AVG, click here for a link to their site.  If you want an excellent free firewall program, which works every bit as well as Norton, or McAfee, click here for Zone Alarm.

You could spend $125 for Microsoft Office basic, or you could install Open Office. This free suite has most of the same features and a similar look as Microsoft Office, and it even works with Office documents. Click here for a link to their web site.

Also, a great replacement for Microsoft Outlook is Thunderbird. It has a lot of great features Outlook doesn't. Click here to get it.

The thing is, there are alternatives to expensive software packages which are either free, or available for a small fee. You don't need to spend a lot of money to get the same functionality, it's your money and your choice.

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