The Hard Facts on Free Software

We were treated to an interesting 10 minute presentation from Paul Cowie from Rock IT Group, one of our resident computer gurus at the Newbury Business Group, which meets every Friday morning at the Donnington Valley Golf Course.

He was talking about the varieties of free software, from genuine and wholesome freeware through to open source, and then the malware that masquerades as a useful utility to gain access to our computers.

Paul also joked about the initially free software that has been purloined in an act of blatant piracy, but warned that such folk are all too often caught and can be destined for court. As Certified Microsoft Partners Rock IT Group is often inspecting companies to ensure they have the right licences, so he does know what he is talking about.

His list of top and genuine freeware included such gems as the Google Pack as an alternative to MS Office and just about everything else, Get Paint as an alternative to Photoshop and Foxit Reader as a remarkably small and perfectly formed alternative to Adobe Reader.

A full list of his top tips for free software can be found at a microsite he has set up as a trial site for OfficeLive .

Incidentally, Morgan PR will soon have a shiny new laptop after Paul and Rock IT Group stepped in to supply the lightweight Toshiba we had wanted to adopt nice and early, but was proving rather elusive!