|
There was quite a
bit in Spain's newspapers about Microsoft
being fined for using its control of Windows to monopolise
the rest of the software market, especially software for office
applications and for browsing the internet. What
many people don’t
realise is that there are other excellent programmes,
some of which are regarded as superior to Microsoft’s offerings. For instance, "Firefox"
is probably a faster web
browser than Internet Explorer
with, as far as I can tell, fewer of what Microsoft
disingenuously refers to as "security issues". (In other words the
faulty programming that allows people to hack into your computer or
infect it with a virus.)
"Thunderbird" is a lovely
e-mail programme with the ability to block
all sorts of naughty things and it can even learn to filter spam
straight to a special "Junk" folder.
Both programmes are available for downloading
from www.mozilla.com and are
free.
"Open Office"
is an alternative to Microsoft’s
Office software, such as "Word",
"Excel", "Power Point" and
"Access". It can even open and
read
them. What’s more, if you want to pass your work on to someone who
doesn’t have Open Office, it can save your files as Microsoft
documents. It is open source software which, apart from anything else,
means that you can use it free.
You can download this top quality stuff from www.openoffice.org so why throw money at Microsoft, or run the risk of being caught using a pirated copy? What about anti-virus software? Go to www.grisoft.com and then, on the top left of your screen, click on products. Look down the list and choose AVG free edition. There is also a payable version, which I use, but then, as a professional user, I’m in a different league. The home user will be very well served by AVG’s free version. What about
protection against spyware? No single
programme seems able
to protect against everything but "Spybot
- Search and Destroy" does an
excellent job against most of the stuff, and if it’s backed up by "Ad-Aware", then, like
housewives using Domestos,
you’ll kill 99% of
all known nasties. Spybot is regularly updated and is free, although
its Irish author relies on voluntary donations to improve it. (After
tryng it for a few months I sent him 10 euros because, as the L'Oreal
advert gushes, "He’s worth it"! Later, I sent him another few bob, as a
sort of maintenance fee, but you don't have to do so.)
Ad Aware, from Lava Soft, tracks down and eliminates mal-ware. You can get it for nowt from www.lavasoft.com by selecting the personal edition. Finally, if you
have a broadband (ADSL)
connection
why get ripped off
by phone companies, even those ones offering reduced rate phone cards?
Go to www.skype.com
and
download the free software. Now you need to
buy some equipment. The
bare minimum is a microphone to plug into your sound card; your
existing loudspeakers can deliver the other person’s voice. For more
privacy you can buy a phone operator’s headset. I said, "Hang the
expense," and splashed out on a US
Robotics telephone, similar to a
mobile, which plugs into the USB port.
Whatever you
decide, you can now make free phone calls to anywhere in
the world, provided the other person also has Skype installed. But
that’s only for starters. I pay Skype the occasional 10 euros to use
its "Skype out" service. This
allows me to ring most fixed line phones,
even ones in New Zealand, for a rate of only 1.7 cents a minute. I
frequently talk to my niece on South Island for an hour at a time and
Skype earns 1 euro - nada más! (U.K. Australia, the USA, and the
EU are the same low price.) Calls to UK mobiles cost around 21 cents a
minute - which is still less than any traditional system. Skype isn’t
alone, there are other companies offering virtually free calls, but
they come and go, and none seems to be as reliable as Skype. Where did
I buy the US Robotics Skype
phone? Where else but Caparros
Cortés (CYG) in Vera, for about 30 euros. Phone headsets start
at around 11.50: Both these prices are inclusive of IVA.
All in
all, I save at least as much each month as the broadband fee I pay
Telefónica There's plenty more good
quality,
free or nearly free software roaming around the web. A good place to
start is thefreesite.com
Happy and thrifty hunting,
this is what the web community originally
meant - people co-operating for love of fellow browsers rather than
love of lucre! However, please pass on the favour - in
return please help out others in your everyday life any way
you can.
P.F.
|