1.
Useful Software (much of which
is free!) 2. Links
to other useful stuff
N.B. It is important that you check the system requirements
of any software before purchasing
or downloading.
Please also read the Disclaimer.
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Jane teaches
all this software and a great deal more.
Please visit the 'Courses'
page for more information.
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*** Free
***
Image Editing Software Downloads
Picasa
Organise, edit and
share your photos
Paint.NET
The closest free image
editor to Adobe Photoshop
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Downloads
To Protect Your PC
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*** Free ***
Alternatives to MS Office -
these
suites are compatible with MS Office
and have a word processor, spreadsheet, database etc.
OpenOffice.org
LibreOffice.org
Kingsoft
Office Free 2012
(Windows XP/Vista/7) (68.4MB download) Includes
a built in PDF converter. Opens all Ms Office files (incl.
docx) and saves docs in all the standard formats (.doc but
not .docx). Worth a try if you don’t want to splash
out for Ms Office. Also for Android.
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Work
online at these
*** Free
***
photo editing sites
www.pixlr.com
Many
editing tools similar to
Adobe Photoshop
www.befunky.com
Crop, resize etc. plus many
easy to use frames, collages,
stickers, cards, rounded corners etc.
www.fotoflexer.com
Includes layers, opacity options,
and a 'change hair colour' tool |
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Adobe
Photoshop Elements
From the makers of Photoshop (the
number one image editing software worldwide), this is a cut
down version at a fraction of the price. Great for anyone interested
in digital photography.
(Can
be purchased from www.amazon.co.uk,
PC World or other retailers!) |
Backup Tools
Easeus
Todo Backup
Comodo
Backup
Backup to CD, DVD, USB
Memory, External Hard Drive or to online storage space, either
manually or scheduled automatic back-ups.
See also SYNCHRONISE FILES below. |
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Adobe
Dreamweaver
(was Macromedia Dreamweaver)
The web page design industry's preferred software
Upload your web site files with
Coffee
Cup FREE ftp |
Photos
& Graphics
iStockphoto
Veezzle
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FeedExplorer
RSS (Really Simple
Syndication) reader. |
Convert
PDFs into Word documents
PDF
Online
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Freemake
Video Converter 3
(19MB download) Convert any video file type into a compatible
format for your needs, as it supports over 200 video file
types.
Can also create YouTube photo slideshows!. |
Google Earth
3D satellite images of the globe. 'Fly', zoom in
and out, tilt and rotate. Search for schools, hotels etc.,
and get driving directions. Amazing!
http://earth.google.com
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Skype
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)
for making free calls over the internet.
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Video
DVD Maker
(Scroll down their webpage to find the free product)
Transform camcorder movies into DVDs
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Windows
Live Mail
This free desktop program is part of
Windows Live. A modern replacement for Outlook Express
users.
http://download.live.com/wlmail |
*** Free ***
Windows
Live Movie Maker
"Turn your photos and videos into
polished movies. Add special effects, transitions, sound,
and captions. Share on the web, a computer, TV, mobile device,
or a DVD." |
Free OCR
Extract text from photos, scans and screenshots,
edit the text and copy to clipboard or into Word. |
Audacity 2 - Audio Editor
(19.8MB)
An extremely popular audio editor. |
If you would like assistance with any of these I shall be pleased to help! |
ENCRYPT YOUR USB FLASH DRIVE
(MEMORY STICK):
A USB flash drive often contains important/sensitive data,
so it can be disastrous if it gets into the wrong hands.
With this free easy to use software you can create an encrypted
partition that is password protected making it unreadable.
Rohos Mini Drive - www.rohos.com.
Or download this free software then simply right-click to password protect a file or folder http://www.axantum.com/AxCrypt/Default.html easy!
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SYNCHRONISE
FILES
with PureSync
(a free download for personal use). Whether backing up files
to an external hard drive or saving them to a USB flash/memory
drive to put onto another computer, you can make it quicker
and easier using PureSync which automatically compares the
contents of two folders and syncs them so that both contain
the most recent files. |
'Like' my facebook page for computer tips and useful bits
@JaneWilliamsCom
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E-BOOKS - You don't need a Kindle to read
e-books!
Web User Magazine did a recent survey on the best sites to
download FREE e-books from, the winning site was www.openlibrary.org
where the free 'accessible books' are available in a range
of digital formats including PDF.
Google's eBookstore is also worth a visit with
a huge selection of FREE titles to read on your PC, smartphone,
Sony eReader or tablet, but you have to convert the file to
AZW for use on an Amazon Kindle (using e-book software such
as Calibre (http://calibre-ebook.com).
http://books.google.com/ebooks |
Aylesbury Vale District Council - the WHAT'S ON section
is worth a regular visit.
www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/
Or find your local entertainment listing from Bing Events
- www.bing.com/events
- simply type in your town then select the distance you want
i.e. within 10km.
The BBC and other partners have put together this section
of THINGS TO DO for the whole family during the summer holidays
and all year round too.
www.bbc.co.uk/thingstodo
Sites to help you SAVE MONEY ON YOUR SHOPPING::
www.myvouchercodes.co.uk
www.pricecutreview.com
www.topcashback.co.uk
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Allsorts of interesting reading and discounts for the OVER
50s - like a quality magazine - High50 www.high50.com
SILVER SURFERS is full of links to all sorts -
www.silversurfers.net/
Direct
Gov - the single most useful site on the web.
Business Biscotti is BUSINESS NETWORKING at its best - its
FREE to join online and FREE to attend offline. There are
no restrictions on who can join and no need to attend any
Biscotti meetings if you don't want to.
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