With at least some of us still smarting from April 15 (that’s tax day to my non-USA readers), it’s a good time to look at my favorite kind of software:

The Free kind.

PC Magazine recently fired off their “The Best Free Software of 2010” article, and a quick look suggests a lot of interesting goodies – though disappointingly few writer-specific freebies.

Sure, Google Docs, OpenOffice and Zoho all made the “office” list (as did the interesting Windows text editor Notepad++). But nowhere did I see a hint of the text processor for the modern online writer – a breed of editor so advanced, it apparently hasn’t been invented (more on this soon).

Otherwise, it’s a mix of the usual suspects and some intriguing newcomers, in categories like:

  • Anti-Malware
  • App Launchers
  • Audio
  • Backup/Synch/Storage
  • Blogging
  • Browsers
  • Calendar/PIM
  • Conferencing/VoIP
  • Displays
  • Email
  • File Transfer/Sharing
  • File Viewers/Converters
  • Finance
  • Fun/Home
  • Graphics
  • Instant Messaging
  • Maps
  • Media Manager
  • Networking
  • Office
  • Operating Systems
  • Printing
  • Process Monitors
  • Remote Access
  • RSS Readers
  • Search
  • Security/Encryption
  • Social Networking
  • System Utilities
  • Video

What’s “Free” Really Good For?

I run my business atop Ubuntu Linux, so my hard disk is largely populated with free software.

Which works extremely well.

And while the mainstay applications get all the ink (OpenOffice, GnuCash (financial), GIMP image editing, etc), the real benefit of free software is your ability to try new things – without a big investment.

Ever created a podcast? I hadn’t – until a client asked if I was interested in producing a regular segment for them.

I billed them for the hardware and the time, but a fast download of Audacity sound editing software (free) had me underway in literally minutes.

I’ve written plenty of radio, and those skills came back fast.

But I learned a lot.

I learned that podcasts were as easy to produce as everyone said.

And that my voice isn’t suited for broadcast (actually, I knew that already, but forgot).

Of course, the point here isn’t that I have grating, nasal voice.

It’s that I tried something I wouldn’t have attempted had I needed to plunk down a couple hundred dollars.

The same is true of video editing (OpenShot video editor), mind mapping and a few others.

Free software offers more than a product at no cost; it’s a chance to try something new sans the barrier of a sizable investment.

Keep writing (and experimenting), Tom Chandler.

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