Being a computer repair technician, I get asked a lot of questions. Quite a few of them are about what software do I recommend. And since I am frugal, I will usually suggest free ones. So here are my four (4) favorite free programs I always suggest.

Free graphic programs

When it comes to graphics, everyone knows about Photoshop. And you have probably heard the phrase 'photoshopped' before. Photoshop has become the leading image editor.

But what if you cannot afford Photoshop? Well, there are other alternatives for image editing. And it just so happens that they are free too.

Paint.NET

Paint.NET started as a free replacement for the Paint program that comes with Windows. But it has grown to be a top-line graphics editor that compares to Photoshop for all of its useful features.

Paint.NET has quite the intuitive interface and includes support for layers, special effects, and hundreds of plugins. Paint.NET runs only on the Windows platform and does require the latest version of the .NET framework.

Click here for more information on Paint.NET

GIMP

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is another alternative image editor for Photoshop. It has a full set of editing tools, including layers, channels and over 100 plugins.

GIMP is part of the GNU Project, which is open-source, so you are encouraged to participate in its development. GIMP will run on Windows, OS X, and GNU/Linux operating systems.

Click here for more information on GIMP

Free productivity programs

OpenOffice

When it comes to productivity software, there is one question I regularly get, "Is there an alternative to Microsoft Office?". I always respond with "Yes, Apache OpenOffice. And it is free.".

Apache OpenOffice is another open-source project that is comparable and compatible with Microsoft Office. You can open, edit, and save all Microsoft Office file formats with OpenOffice.

It has Writer, a word processor equivalent to Microsoft Word, Calc, a spreadsheet program comparable to Microsoft Excel and Impress, a multi-media slide-show presentation program equivalent to Microsoft PowerPoint.

It also includes Draw, a graphic program equivalent to Microsoft Paint and Base, a database program comparable to Microsoft Access. There are versions of OpenOffice for Windows, OS 10 and Linux operating systems.

Click here for more information on OpenOffice

Free anti-spam program

MailWasher Free

E-mail is the most popular way right now for hackers to attack your computer. All they have to do is get you to open a bogus e-mail in a web browser or e-mail client.

But with MailWasher Free, you can check your mail securely. MailWasher Free downloads nothing but the text of your e-mail. It will not download attachments or display HTML formatted mail by default. It will render HTML e-mail, but only after you get a security warning.

Now, you cannot use MailWasher Free as an e-mail client, since it does not have an e-mail editor. It is just for deleting unwanted mail on your mail server—that way, the unsolicited mail never makes its way into your browser or mail program.

Now MailWasher Free is supported by ads inside the program itself. If you have more than one e-mail address or want to avoid the advertisements, you may want to think about purchasing MailWasher Pro.

Click here for more information on MailWasher free

With the cost of Microsoft Office going up, not to mention the subscription / non-subscription thing, it's nice to know there are alternatives out there. One of the best office alternatives has to be OpenOffice. And it just so happens that the Apache Software Foundation recently released a new version of their free productivity software, OpenOffice 4.

The main screen inside of OpenOffice 4

For those who are not familiar with it, OpenOffice is a suite of office productivity programs that rivals Microsoft Office. It has everything you could need for creating great-looking documents, spreadsheets, and slideshow presentations. Here's a complete list of all of the programs included in OpenOffice 4.

OpenOffice 4 has some significant improvements over previous versions. A new Sidebar contains the most commonly used functions for that program, which can be docked, floating, or completely hidden. There is also much improved compatibly with Microsoft Office documents. The drawing, graphics, and gallery functions have also been enhanced, along with the copy & paste and drag & drop functionality.

The new Sidebar inside of OpenOffice 4 shown docked and floating

OpenOffice does use Java, but it's not required for installation, as it can be added later on. Compatibility with other document formats is pretty impressive, but Star Office is no longer supported. OpenOffice can automatically load/convert and convert/save Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) and Design Science Mathtype documents. The only file types that it cannot save to is the Microsoft Office 2007 - 2019 .???x formats.

And since OpenOffice is open-source, there are hundreds of third-party extensions to expand on the functionality of the applications. Add in a copy of GIMP or Paint.NET, and you have a complete and free desktop publishing package.

OpenOffice 4 is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac operating systems. For more information on OpenOffice 4, just follow the links below:

Apache OpenOffice Open Source Project

Download OpenOffice 4

Note: This article was based on OpenOffice 3. Since this article was written, OpenOffice version 4 has been released. Click here to read the newer OpenOffice 4 article.

A client recently asked me if I knew of any alternative to Microsoft Office. As a firm believer in open-source software, I told him about OpenOffice.org 3 from Oracle. It is a complete office software suite with a word processor, spreadsheet, multimedia presentation, graphics, and database programs.

OpenOffice.org is Java-based and requires it to be installed. It is compatible with other commercial office software and can read/write various file formats. XSLT and StarOffice formats are supported, but you will need to choose the custom installation to enable these filters. You can also expand the functionality of OpenOffice.org by using third party extensions. And you can also export to PDF in all of the applications. And best of all, it's free.

OpenOffice.org 3's main screen

Programs included in OpenOffice.org

Writer
Writer lets you design and produce text documents that can include graphics, tables, or charts. You can then save the documents in a variety of formats, including the standardized OpenDocument format (ODF), Microsoft Word .doc format, or HTML. And you can easily export your document to the Portable Document Format (PDF).

Calc
Calc is a spreadsheet application that you can use to calculate, analyze, and manage your data. You can also import and modify Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.

Impress
Impress lets you create professional slide shows that can include charts, drawing objects, text, multimedia, and a variety of other items. If you want, you can even import and modify Microsoft PowerPoint presentations.

Draw
Draw lets you create simple and complex drawings and export them in a number of common image formats. You can also insert tables, charts, formulas, and other items created in OpenOffice.org programs into your drawings.

Base
With Base, you can access data that is stored in a wide variety of database file formats. Base natively supports some flat file database formats, such as the dBASE format. You can also use Base to connect to external relational databases, such as databases from MySQL or Oracle.

Math
Math provides numerous operators, functions, and formatting assistants to help you create formulas.

OpenOffice.org 3 is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac operating systems. For more information on OpenOffice.org 3, please visit their website OpenOffice.org.