With the economic climate being what it is today, the word "free" becomes all that much more important. No one could argue that getting something for nothing is a blessing indeed. Unfortunately it is often the case that getting something for nothing is a misnomer. This is especially true when it comes to getting free software from the Internet.
A website claims to have free software for download, but one is forced to sift through a plethora of software offerings that are far from free to find anything of value that is also "gratis." It is for this reason that I have written another article containing links to three absolutely 100% free pieces of software that could actually be of use to the reader. A brief description of the software's intended purpose, the advantages, disadvantages, and a bottom line summary will be given for each of the products discussed here. Moreover, a credible link to the download page for each of the software products will be given following the summary.
Easy Cleaner
Easy Cleaner, created by Toni Arts Programming, is the first of the free programs under consideration here. Its intended purpose is to provide a simple interface whereby the user can clean up his or her PC. It is capable of performing a myriad of clean-up and system diagnostic tasks like those found on every Windows PC, but presents these tasks in a single GUI window upon start-up so the user may easily choose tasks such as viewing the start up programs list and viewing disk space usage from a set of buttons all found in the same window.
Advantages
Easy cleaner's biggest advantages are its ease of use and its disk clean-up features. It can quickly search a hard drive and return a list of unnecessary files which the user can delete with a click of the mouse.
I have never experienced a problem with Easy Cleaner deleting files that were, in fact necessary. The program has a built in feature which will not delete any files being used by the OS. The program also advantageously provides the user with instant access to the list of programs that start when the computer starts. The user may delete files from this list which usually in turn decreases the required start-up time for the computer (when using this feature do not delete the Windows operating system command from the list). Other advantages include the program's ability to graphically display disk usage quickly.
Disadvantages
The only disadvantage worth noting here involves the program's ability to find and display duplicate files. There is no way to delete a given duplicate file from the window in which the duplicate file names and locations are displayed by the program.
Bottom Line
Easy Cleaner is a must have for all Windows users. It combines many features found in different locations of Windows into a single, extremely user-friendly interface. If space usage is an issue on your computer, this is a fantastic program to monitor and adjust this usage as needed. As with many of the software offerings the author has discussed, Easy Cleaner is best downloaded from the CNET software review website
Jarte
Another fine piece of truly free software is Jarte, written by the Carolina Road Software company. It is intended to be a simple, small word processing program and can be downloaded as a stand alone application capable of running from a flash drive for instance. It is only a word processor, not an office suite and this is the reason for its advantages as well as its disadvantages.
Advantages
Jarte's primary advantage is that is is not part of a horribly turgid office suite program that requires several hundred megabytes of space to install. It has all of the usual text editing capabilities of any reputable word processor and doesn't take up any measurable amount of disk space during operation. Moreover, a text file saved in .RTF format in Jarte is editable with any of the other big name pieces of software. In fact, this entire piece (except the hyperlinks) was written using Jarte. The other advantage of Jarte is the ability to download and install the software as a stand alone program on devices such as a USB flash drive.
Disadvantages
Jarte's only disadvantage is that it is harder to find some of the bells and whistles which are included in other word processing software and are clearly displayed in a toolbar. The creation of hyperlinks in the text and insertion of equations are tasks which must be accessed via drop down menus. It's a minor disadvantage when compared to the performance capabilities and the price of Jarte.
Bottom Line
If the reader performs many word processing tasks on multiple computers, then Jarte is a must have. It is simple to use, it has a low disk space usage requirement, and it is portable. To obtain this program, the reader is encouraged to go to the Carolina Road Software website itself rather than obtaining Jarte through a third-party website.
Tux Paint
If the reader has children, then he or she has been asked to play on the computer by these children at some point. It is important not to deny them the learning experience of using a computer, but it is equally important to provide programming geared toward their age level. It is for this reason that the program Tux Paint is recommended. Its purpose is to provide children with a free MS Paint like program with a completely simplified user interface. It has all of the features of MS Paint but the GUI contains large font and simple text with large icons.
Advantages
Tux Paint is advantageous because of its simplified user interface and numerous extra features such as included picture backgrounds, kid-oriented tools such as the “rubber stamp” copy and paste feature and the simple color palette. The program also has the advantage that it is free for other operating systems as well.
Disadvantages
There are no real disadvantages to this program. It's free, it's simple, and my grandchildren have spent many hours happily drawing and coloring away with this program.
Bottom Line
If the reader has, or is regularly in the company of, young children, then Tux Paint is an incredible free piece of software that will help children to facilitate positive experiences with the computer as well as express themselves artistically. The program can be downloaded from the TuxPaint.org website.
These three absolutely free software products are sure to be of use to many readers. It is hoped that the information contained in this article has helped the reader in his or her quest to save money on computer software.
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