PCMOGAWAKO Computer Setup Preventive and Corrective Maintenance - Software Alternatives

Software Options


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Most of the softwares below are from the Open Source projects. Softwares coming from this community are generally free, both for personal and for business use. To understand more about free softwares, visit The FREE SOFTWARE PORTAL by clicking here.

If you are going to use any of the softwares below, please read carefully its license agreement before proceeding with the installation.


Free Operating Systems
(GUI based Linux)

Fedora Core "The goal of the Fedora Project is to work with the Linux community to build a complete, general-purpose operating system exclusively from open source software."  Comes with many applications and tools.
Ubuntu is a complete open source operating system suitable for desktops and servers. The base system and all included software are free, and support is available from the community or by professional support providers. "Ubuntu" is an ancient African word, meaning "humanity to others". The Ubuntu distribution brings the spirit of Ubuntu to the software world. -- from the Ubuntu CD --

Version 6.06 dubbed as "Dapper" LTS (long-term support) is the version that comes with three year support. Was released June of 2006.

The Ubuntu distribution comes in many flavors.

Ubuntu CD is a live CD. You don't have to install it in order to experience it work. Just pop-in the CD, boot from it and you are on! It even comes with applications you can use on your MS Windows operating systems!

Edubuntu is my favorite. It comes with all the application I commonly use. Useful for students, teachers, artists, business people, and even your own two-year-old kid! It even installs and runs on a PC with 64 MB ram!
Kubuntu the KDE environment version of Ubuntu. Nice graphic effects!
Xubuntu the lightweight version of Ubuntu. Supports the XFCE desktop environment. For PCs with 128MB of ram or less.


Anti-Virus, Anti-S
pywares, Firewall and Zip Tool
(for MS Windows)
Avast Advanced anti-virus program that monitors all points of entry to your PC. Protects your PC while receiving e-mail, instant messaging, downloading files, browsing the net, and accessing files from various storage media. It can even write protect certain file types in your PC! Can be configured to scan all packets your browser sends and requests over the Internet. Free for home users.
ClamWin The Windows version of ClamAV, a widely used free anti-virus toolkit for Unix-like operating systems. It has a graphical user interface, a scanning scheduler, context menu integration to Explorer, as well as addins for Microsoft Outlook and Firefox. However, it needs third party software in order to provide real-time scanning of files. The team that maintains this program takes seriously your virus submissions, making it one of the best in virus detection. Because it has no real-time scanning engine, most anti-virus won't mind you installing this program alongside, giving you an invaluable second opinion regarding the health of your PC.
Ad-Aware SE With the ability to scan your RAM, registry, hard drives, and external storage devices for known data-mining, advertising, and tracking components, Ad-aware SE easily can clean your system, allowing you to maintain a higher degree of privacy while you surf the Web. -- publisher --      Free for personal use.
SpywareBlaster Protects your PC by fortifying your web browser. Prevent the installation of ActiveX-based spyware, adware, browser hijackers, dialers, and other potentially unwanted software. Block spyware/tracking cookies in Internet Explorer and Mozilla/Firefox. Restrict the actions of potentially unwanted sites in Internet Explorer. SpywareBlaster is freeware for personal and educational use.
Spybot - Search & Destroy An excellent application that scans your PC for spyware, adware, hijackers and other malicious softwares. It even has a real-time scanning engine that complements your existing anti-virus software. It also hardens your browser by identifying BHOs and ActiveX controls, giving you the chance to remove it. Complements Windows by identifying startup programs that might very well be unknown Trojans. Adds entries to your HOSTS file to prevent your PC from reaching undesirable Internet sites. Spybot - Search & Destroy is freeware software.
NetVeda Safety.Net A professional firewall application software with features not found in other well-known products. It provides Internet security, Content security (a.k.a Parental Control), Advanced Internet firewall, Protects all computers, Time restrictions, Application, Network activity monitor, and Computer specific rules. And best of all, it does not consume much system resource. One of the best products I've used, NetVeda Safety.Net is free for personal and not-for-profit charitable entity use (excluding governmental entities, educational institutions and libraries). Click here to go to NetVedas' download site, or click here to an alternate download site.
ZipGenius One of my frustrations in using Windows 9x is its inability to understand zipped files. If you are still using these operating systems, ZipGenius will provide it with support for more than 20 compressed archive formats, including CD/DVD-ROM image files in ISO9660 standard. What's so good about this program is that its genius shines and it's absolutely free!


Open Source Windows Applications
The OpenCD Project The OpenCD contains a wider selection of Windows-based open source, including:
  • Audacity - audio editing
  • Blender - 3D modeling and animation
  • Celestia - desktop planetarium
  • Gimp - advanced image editing
  • MoinMoin - desktop wiki
  • NVU - visual web page authoring
  • OpenOffice.org - full-featured office suite
  • PDFCreator - make PDF files in any application

As with Ubuntu, the programs on the OpenCD are carefully selected to ensure stability and ease of use.Please visit theopencd.org  for more information.
-- from the Ubuntu CD --


Below are some of the programs from the OpenCD project.
Abiword Abiword is a light-weight word processor that can read and write a large number of document formats, including MS-Word. Due to its small size, Abiword is well suited for use on older hardware, and will run happily on a 486DX with 16MB of RAM, while still letting you edit all the relevant document formats of today. Key features include HTML export, unlimited undo and redo, support for spell checking, styles, columns, tables, images, and bulleted/numbered lists. Abiword is available on multiple platforms, including Windows, Linux, MacOSX and Unix.
-- 
the Ubuntu CD --
Gaim Gaim is an Internet Messenging client that enables you to chat with others in real time using any supported network, including AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo!, IRC and Jabber. Gaim can be simultaneously connected to several networks, so you can talk with all your contacts via one easy-to-use program.
-- the Ubuntu CD --
The Gimp The GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) is suitable for those wanting to edit digital photos, design and export graphics for the web, convert from one file format to another, or even produce complex high-resolution compositions for print. The GIMP features a number of paint tools with sub-pixel sampling for high quality anti-aliased brush strokes, a powerful gradient editor and blend tool, layers and masks with over 20 blending modes, levels and curves tools for enhancement of digital photos and much more! GIMP can also open and save files in wide range of formats.
-- the Ubuntu CD --
Mozilla Firefox The Firefox web browser empowers you to browse web pages faster, more safely, and more efficiently. Key features include pop-up blocking to stop those annoying ads, tabbed browsing to let you view multiple web pages in a single window, and opening links in the background so that they're ready for viewing when you're ready to read them. The toolbars are fully customizable. Don't like the default order of the buttons? Right click, select "customize" and drag that button where you want it.
-- the Ubuntu CD --
Mozilla Thunderbird Thunderbird is a modern e-mail client with features such as intelligent spam filters, a built-in spell checker, a range of themes and customizable layout. Thunderbird provides IMAP/POP support, HTML e-mail composing, quick search, address book, advanced message filtering, address completion, import tools, and the ability to manage multiple e-mail and newsgroup accounts. You can add a wide variety of extensions to Thunderbird to add additional features or tweak its behavior to suit your own preferences.
-- the Ubuntu CD --
Nvu Design your own web pages and publish them over the Internet using Nvu. Because it's a WYSIWYG program, it lets you create complex HTML pages without having to learn it. If you know FrontPage Express, you would instantly create pages in no time. Lets you add lists, tables, images, links, colors and more, without having to program a single line. It even has the same rendering engine as that of Firefox, allowing you to instantly view how the page will look online.
OpenOffice.org 2.0.x I never thought that a fine program such as this one would be given away free. The suite has a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation software, equation editor and a drawing program. It is compatible with most major formats such as MS Office, except that macros are not converted. It even allows you to export your documents to a PDF file. It also has a comprehensive help and spell checks in 15 languages. OpenOffice.org has finally arrived. Thank you for creating this delightful office suite.



   pizarra (12/24/06)
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— justice, fairness, and humanity to others —

Many people have devoted their precious time and effort in making "free software" a reality.
Use only licensed softwares.
Copyright© 2006. All rights reserved.