Free and low-cost software is seriously awesome. Oftentimes, these programs can not only perform as well as a high cost program but can do the job better. I really like programs that are open-source – users know the things they don’t like and can edit them to fix it how they want. Here’s my list of great free programs:
Posts Tagged ‘Open Source Software’
Have you updated your software lately?
Posted 14 Jun 2009 — by Ellie
Category Geek Girl
Category Geek Girl
One of the most dreaded chores for most computer users is finding and installing updates for your software and operating system. There are programs out there to make this process easier, and many programs have built-in update checkers.
One of the top programs for updating your software is FileHippo, which works on PCs only. However, VersionTracker works on PCs, Macs iPhone and PalmOS.
photo credit: slworking2
No matter which program you use, it is important to look at the settings for your software first and see if it has the capability to check on its own for updates. You might have to manually check for an update or set the program to check for updates periodically, but at least you’ll be prepared to update your software quickly!
PC to Mac Conversion – Week One
Posted 01 May 2009 — by Ellie
Category Technology
Category Technology
I’ve had my MacBook for a week now, and I have been busy tweaking and installing programs to give me the same functionality of my PC on the Mac. This is a monumental task, as so many people have created great Mac software – and all software is not created equally.
I started using ShortKeys on Windows for text replacement, but it does not have a Mac equivalent. So, I downloaded TextExpander and it is working great so far. It does exactly what is says and there are downloadable TextExpander snippet files available for download, too. OpenOffice is my current replacement for Microsoft Office 2007, until I get my copy of MS Office in the mail. It is a good, solid program and I have used the program before on my Vista computer.
Geek Girl to Customize Google: Fix It!
CustomizeGoogle is one of my most favorite Firefox add-ons. I love its breadth of features and ability to tweak Google to fit my needs. BUT, I have noticed that my favorite features of CustomizeGoogle no longer work. It is as if the Google Gods have intentionally broken the magic that made CustomizeGoogle work.
In a nutshell:
CustomizeGoogle is a Firefox extension that enhances Google search results by adding extra information (like links to Yahoo, Ask.com, MSN etc) and removing unwanted information (like ads and spam).
iTweet vs Tweetvisor – Having fun with Twitter
Posted 15 Apr 2009 — by Ellie
Category Geek Girl
Category Geek Girl
Twitter seems to be taking the world by storm – whether if it is because Bo the First Dog is using it or a Brooklyn teenager is making an internet worm that exploits Twitter’s weaknesses. My favorite feature about Twitter really doesn’t have to do with Twitter.com, but instead the many, many programs that you can use Twitter with – from ways to send links to your blog posts to your Twitter account, post to your Twitter account, or use a totally different interface with fresh and cool features to use your account.
Are your passwords secure?
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Posted 23 Mar 2009 — by EllieCategory Geek Girl
Okay, I admit, I’m a bad Geek Girl. Some of my passwords are not as secure as they could be. It is a hassle to try to make up passwords of the right combinations of random letters, numbers and symbols. Some password systems do not want you to use symbols, others require upper and lower case letters, and the requirements combinations go on and on.
Run GMail from your Desktop
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Posted 09 Mar 2009 — by EllieCategory Geek Girl
Just about everyone uses Gmail for their email today. Gmail continues to add new features to keep existing users happy and attract new users. One of the latest features is Gmail offline – and these applications make it easy to use Gmail offline.
GeeMail is an Adobe Air application that can work online and offline to provide Gmail to you where ever you may be. It also works on Windows, Mac and Linux. The keyboard shortcuts of Gmail work in GeeMail and the interface is the classic blue and white Gmail interface. Currently, there’s no support for search, but GeeMail does perform the basic functions of email.
Convert PDF Documents into Flash Flip Books with Issuu
Posted 05 Mar 2009 — by Amit Banerjee
Category Technology
Category Technology
Converting PDF Documents to Flash Is really simple and there are plenty of tools available to Convert PDF documents into SWF objects and Flash movies and Stunning Flip Books.
Issuu turns your PDF documents into beautiful looking Flash flip Books.Just Upload your PDF documents( Max Size 100Mb) and create your own Flash based Flip Book.You may embed Your Flip Book to your Blog or website or other Social networking sites ( Facebook ,MySpace etc).
The best part is that You can turn your slides as if you are turning the pages of a a magazine.See a sample flip Book here
Make Leaving Comments on WP Blogs Easier
Posted 17 Dec 2008 — by Ellie
Category WordPress
Category WordPress
Leaving comments on WordPress powered blogs can be tiresome and frankly, tedious.
There are two ways to work around this problem – one is a Firefox extension and the other is a browser bookmarklet.
I’ve mentioned bookmarklets here before, and this one works just the same. Single click and drag this link (WordPress Comment) to your browser toolbar. Be sure to edit the name, email and website values after saving by right clicking on the link and going to preferences. A WordPress comments bookmarklet could come in handy on many blogs, but the developer says there are problems with some themes not having the right coding, so the fields do not automatically fill in. Note: I have only tested on Firefox 3. (Source: i0nutzb)
