Here are some computer-related sites that I find useful.  I hope you will too!

Office Productivity Software

Open Office.org -  The free and "open source"  office suite available for Windows, Mac, Linux and a number of other operating systems.

With the release of "Version 2.0x", I can think of less and less reasons why anyone would want to bother forking out hundreds of dollars for Microsoft Office.

Abiword -  "Abiword" is a free and open source "stand alone" word processing programme.  It's so "lightweight" that it'll run comfortably on an old 486 computer!

Alternative Web Browsers

Mozilla Firefox -   Are you still using Micro$oft Internet Explorer?   Why????  Firefox is soooooo much better!   Tabbed browsing, lots of extensions to add new functionality to the browser, you can add your own search engines, pop-up blocking by default and produced by a non-profit foundation.  What more could you want?

Opera     -  How about a nice fast web browser from Norway!    There are versions for Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.   The last time I updated this site they were on version 8.5x with version 9.0 "in the pipe".  Opera 9 will be able to pass the "acid2 test" for web page rendering.  It has built-in support for RSS feeds and the next version will have a built-in bittorrent client!

Sea Monkey - "Sea Monkey" is the new "web suite" based on the old "Mozilla" web browser.  It contains a web browser, e-mail client, IRC client along with a basic web page creation tool.

Other Alternative Software

Mozilla Thunderbird -  Still using Micro$oft Outlook Express?   Why???  Switching to Mozilla Thunderbird is easy.   Once you install it you can easily import all of your Outlook Express settings into Thunderbird where you'll find an e-mail programme with adaptive junk mail filtering, "anti-fishing" protection and all kinds of other goodies.

The Gimp - Photoshop is a great programme but who can afford it?  "The Gimp" (Gnu Image Manipulation Project) is open source and free.  Also it'll do just about anything that Photoshop will do.

Scribus -  Scribus is a free and open source desktop publishing programme.

Inkscape - Inkscape is a free and open source drawing programme somewhat like "Corel Draw".

Nvu -  A free and open source WYSIWYG webpage creation tool, based on "Mozilla Composer" but with some more advanced features.

Filezilla -  A free and open source FTP programme for Windows computers.

The Open CD Project -  A collection of free and open source software programmes that run on Windows computers.

Grisoft - Home of the "AVG Anti-virus" programme from the Czech Republic.   Its a free download if you're outside of Europe.

Avast -  "Avast" is a product of Aliwil Software also from the Czech Republic.  Avast has a free version for home users.

ClamWin  -  "ClamWin" is a free and open source anti-virus programme.  It does not yet have an "online" anti-virus scanner.

DBAN - "Darik's Boot & Nuke" - is a free and open source programme that will boot either from a floppy disk or a CD-R disk and will completely and securely wipe out all data on a hard drive.

Bootdisk - Got yourself in a jam and can't find a bootdisk?   This is a really great site with bootdisks for DOS, all kinds of versions of Windows, even some Linux bootdisks too!    There are also some really useful links for finding things like universal CD-ROM drivers etc.

Other Stuff!

PC Mech - Lot's of cool info on computer hardware.

Curious about the Linux revolution?   Here are some sites to check out.  I made the switchover awhile back.  Linux  has improved incredibly over the last several years.   If you're not a heavy-duty "gamer", Linux is ready for "prime time".

What's Linux?   It's an "open source" operating system that is beginning to kick Microsoft's monopolistic butt!   Depending on what distribution (distro) you use, it's either free or very cheap.   If you've got a "spare" computer kicking around, why not try it out?

While you can get along with less than this I'd recommend the following as minimum hardware:

                Pentium II or AMD K6-II processor
                128 MB RAM
                4 GB Hard Drive
                Bootable CD-ROM drive
                High Speed Internet Connection

http://linux.com

http://www.linux.org

http://www.linuxnewbie.org

http://www.linuxquestions.org

http://www.distrowatch.com

LINUX DISTRIBUTIONS:

Want to create your own website?  Here are some basics!

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