Finding Free Software – Originally Published November 2011

July 23, 2014 Posted by Tiny

A Pain in the Whatchamacallit
By Tiny Ruisch

I’ve been thinking about buying a program for my computer.  Wait!  Don’t call the medics!  I haven’t lost my mind yet.  My money is still in my pocket.  I’m not in a hurry to decide if I really need it.

People who know me can tell you that I don’t normally spend my dollars for stuff I can get for free.  I guess it’s my Dutch heritage.  With three exceptions, all of the software on my computers is freeware.  Part of the purchase price of a computer is used to pay for the operating system.  I’m fairly certain that if that wasn’t so, I would be an avid Linux user today.  After all, that penguin is kind of cute.

My most recent software purchase was about a year and a half ago.  I had used Outlook for several years but replaced it instead of paying that huge upgrade fee.  Then one day, I was visiting Fort Polk and I found a copy of Microsoft Outlook 2007 for $50.  It was marked down to make room for Outlook 2010.  In a moment of weakness, I parted with some cash.  It isn’t likely that I’ll ever be upgrading the program.

My final program that I paid for was originally a shareware that I purchased for ten dollars if I remember correctly.  VuePrint is an image viewer that can also do minor editing.  I originally purchased it because I liked how fast you could view and print images.  About three years ago, the author quit updating the software and released it as freeware.  It’s still my default image viewer.  If you want to try it, you can download it here: VuePrint – Free Image Viewer

I’m getting to be a little older and kind of turning into a curmudgeon.  I don’t often look for new software, but when I do, the first place I look is Gizmo’s Freeware.  On this site you can search by software categories, do a search for a topic or you can read various lists such as all of the free software from Microsoft.  Another great feature of this web site is the Security Wizard.  By answering a few questions, you get a recommendation of which free anti-virus and other protection software is best for your computer.

Another great place to find no cost software is the Freeware Genius.  The motto of this website is “Someday all software will be free”.  Besides the free software, this site also features a list of free magazines.  Most of them are technical, but the list is extensive.  Check it out.  You might find something useful.

You can find, create and publish open source software for free at SourceForge.  Sometimes I go to this site just to check the statistics at the top of the home page.  As I write this article, SourceForge has 317,952 projects listed.  That is a lot of programs.  (I wonder if they make a hard drive big enough to hold them all?)  I’ve found that the real computer geeks hang out on this site.

A few other places to find freeware are Donation Coder, the Freeware Geeks and NirSoft.  Nirsoft is unique because it has more than a hundred programs, all written by one person.  Many of them are small utilities that are really useful.

Free software is really nice but you should remember that free lunches are pretty good too.  Neither is really free.  They just require a different kind of payment.  Some programs are scaled down versions that entice you to buy the full program.  Some require personal information.  Many of these programs are written with the hope that users will like them so much they will make a payment to the author.  I’ve done just that for some of the indispensable software I use.

If you start downloading and installing free software, be extra careful.  I recommend doing a Google search with the software name and the word “problems” or “reviews”.  If there are a lot of hits, be suspicious.  There is a lot of free stuff that comes with a free Virus or Trojan.  Download only from a trusted page.  Before you install, scan with your anti-virus program.

One last link that you can check to find some good free software links is our Club Website.  Log in and check the posts.  You can also review the older club newsletters.  A lot of freeware has been reviewed in the past.

If you’ve got a favorite free program, why not take a few minutes and let the rest of the club members know about it?  Write a short review and post it on the club’s website or send it to the Newsletter Editor.  Remember our club motto?  It is “Users Helping Users”.

Thanks for reading.

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