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So... you're a writer, and HATE Microsoft word or notepad, but... haven't got a couple hundred to drop on a professional word processor?

Or, maybe you're into art, and can't live another moment with Microsoft Paint, but... you still haven't got several hundred dollars to drop on photoshop.

Well, whatever you are, if you're an artist of words, sounds or images, and you're broke, poor or just plain frugal, and the software Windows provides you with just isn't cutting it... this post is for you.

This software is rising in popularity, not only because they're better than what the folks at Microsoft are willing to give you even though you actually PAY for windows, but... because they're also nice and FREE. And that makes them even better. So here they are...

So... You want to write...

Okay, most of us have probably heard of it, but for those who haven't there's a powerful new tool in town for writers, and while it may take a little getting used to, I think you'll find it well worth it once you have. I used to be a die-hard Lotus Word Pro fan, until I started using it. Now I would have a hard time using anything else.

Open Office is it's name, and if you've been wanting to leave notepad and Word in the dust for some time now, I think you'll be glad to get acquainted. It costs a whopping zero dollars... which is more than I can say for your therapy bill if you're trying to write a book in notepad. And if you've never heard of it, you can learn more about it right here.

EDIT: An alternative is Lotus Symphony, which is based on the Open Office code, from what I understand, but which is also free. I am switching to it in the hopes of finding a different word processing solution, after loosing my files to some unknown error in open office, that has turned all of my text docuмents repeatedly into nothing but "##############" (pound signs). While open office would remain my first choice if all I wanted to do was type up the occasional letter, for those who need long term stability, you miiiiiiight want to look elsewhere. When Open Office has this particular error, you loose ALL of your Open Office, if not all of your rich text docuмents to it. Which is fine if you just use it to write letters to aunt Jane, but not so fine if you're a novelist on page 477 of your latest novel.

Lotus Symphony may share a lot of the same code, but apparently Lotus Symphony is releasing their versions BEHIND Open Office... meaning that while you might not get upgrades as quickly, you might also (I'm just guessing here) get more stable releases when you DO get them. Here's hoping.


So you're an artist...

All right. So it DOES take long enough to load that even the women may grow a long, flowing beard by the time it's done... but who cares?! The fact of the matter is, it's a full $699 cheaper than Photoshop, AND... almost as powerful in terms of features. Actually, while it lacks a few others, it has some features Photoshop doesn't have! So while you may have to find something to do while it loads, it certainly beats Microsoft paint hands down, and being ALMOST as good as Photoshop, and almost $700 cheaper... you might find it worth the wait.

GIMP is the name, and you can get it here.

And, you can pick up additional brushes, patterns and what have you, without the headache of having to find stuff for the particular version you have (like you have to do with Photoshop).

For anyone who needs/wants to do VECTOR GRAPHICS, this is the name I've heard the most: Inkscape.

And for all of the LITTLE artists out there... there's TUX Paint, which used to be only for Linux (not windows), I think, but now you can get it for windows, too.


So you're into music...

I don't have much information on this one, but I have heard of it a lot. And again, the price is right. It's Audacity, and it's yours from these guys.

Or if that's not your thing and you want something a bit simpler, there's Wave Editor, right here.


So you're into video...

Then this might be your thing...

"Cinefx is an offline editing and visual effectstool that allows you to work with any file format in real time on your desktop."

OR if 3D animation is your thing, it's probably Blender you're after.


Hope everyone found something for them!

[NOTE: Please check your computer's specs before downloading anything. If your computer has a fit because it's old and you were downloading this souped-up, modern software... don't blame me!]

I try to use as much open source software as I possibly can with a few exceptions.

For example, my wife already owned 2 copies of MS Office, so I'm using that (plus Office is really, really good even if expensive) Nevertheless, Office 2001 is plenty advanced for me -- I'm not tempted by the latest Office in the least.

I'm using Windows XP -- I paid $90 for an OEM version back in December 2003, and I've been using it ever since. As of today, I've paid $15 a year to use Windows XP. Not bad for such a rock-solid OS with a huge software support base. And I continue to use it! I might switch to Windows 7 once the kinks are worked out...

If I wasn't a computer programmer, I could probably get by with Linux. But if your client(s) use Windows, you have to use it as well. But there's no reason why average users couldn't switch to Ubuntu, Mint, or another Linux distribution.

Word processing, e-mail, and web browsing is easy to set up on Linux.

Matthew

I wonder if it's in the nature of trads to do everything anti-mainstream, including secular parts of life like food and the software we use on a computer.