I have a huge budget for software, to run my business and some just for fun.

BUT, it’s always a very nice surprise to find something of great value, that fills a need, and doesn’t cost anything. Over the past year or so, I’ve kept a list of my Top Freebies.

I’d like to share these with you. I have no affiliate relationship with any of them, so this is totally unsolicited information, and I stand to gain nothing by telling you, except the satisfaction of knowing I’ve passed on some great information and possibly made your life easier.

1. Mozilla Firefox – This is my browser of choice. It is a free and open source web browser, and its popularity is gaining rapidly on the incumbent Internet Explorer. For more information, you can visit Mozilla’s website. Just put a dot com after the name. There are also some fantastic plug-ins and add-ons to this browser. It’s worth getting familiar with.
2. Jing - This is my favorite screen capture software. I can hardly believe it’s free because it’s so powerful – quick and easy to use. It will also give you 5 minutes of video capture. You can download it from jingproject.com. It is part of a great family of programs, e.g., it’s the “little brother” of Techsmith’s Camtasia Studio. There’s also SnagIt. Check them all out, but download Jing for sure. The little half-sun sits at the top of your screen, ready for instant use without clicking or searching for it.
3. Skype – This freeware package allows users to make telephone calls to other users of Skype for free. Calls to a regular phone line or a mobile phone can be made for a very small fee, but the basic service is free. This is a great VoIP service used a lot by people living in different countries who are computer savvy enough to also take advantage of the web-cam feature. It also has instant messaging and file transfer features. Definitely worth looking into!
4. Open Office – You can find this software at the open office dot org address. This is the leading open-source office software suite that includes word processing, spreadsheet software, presentation software and also a data base management product. It comes in many different languages and works on all common computers. You can read and write files that are compatible with the more well-known MS Office software. It’s completely free. If I hadn’t already spent my money with Microsoft, I wouldn’t.

I found out about some of these from my favorite computer service company, One On One Computers. They are the premier local onsite computer service company in the Myrtle Beach, SC, area. If you are local, their website is http://www.1on1-computers.com

Jeanne Kolenda has lived in Myrtle Beach, SC, for 20 years and is a telecommunications consultant and a small business marketing coach, specializing in bringing offline businesses online. Logon to http://www.businesstrainingteam.com and download a free eBook entitled Local Business Marketing On the Internet. Click on the starburst in the lower left corner of the home page. To contact Jeanne, email Jeanne@businesstrainingteam.com.