Note: in
order to make use of many of these free programs, you will need a
utility
to uncompress the downloaded files prior to installing them onto your
hard-drive.
PC/Windows
files with a name ending in .exe can be run as is, but those ending in
.zip need to be 'unzipped'. Free alternatives include: 7- Zip or Iceows. Another
excellent free tool for opening or
creating Zip and other
compressed files you find on the Net is PowerArchiver.
Windows ME and XP can unzip
zip-files without additional
software (but may want to try one of the free programs for additional
features).
Note
as well: except where
indicated, programs
on these pages are for Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP etc. Mac, DOS,
Windows
3.1 (and other minority platform) software is labelled as such.
Life isn't fair.
Worth
checking out: Alan's
favourite
Links-- part of his Free
Software
for Education presentation. Other free stuff
compilations- Complete Freeware Collection
(Windows only). In November 2006, PC World Magazine listed 101 Fabulous Freebies
... worth checking out by Windows users. Jan 31 2007, there's PC
Magazine's Best Free Software,
updated in February 2008.
September 2007: Mashable.coms list of 480+
(free) Open Source applications, in a variety of
categories. April 2008: PC Magazine's The Best Free Software and then The Best Free
Software: 2010
Worth
reading: TechLearning's 50 Free Tools to Make Computing
Easier. (Free registration required). Or Extreme Tech's April 2010: 35 Best Free Apps for Any OS
Linux users: check this list of Linux
Must-have Programs
For
BC Teachers: The
Provincial Ministry
of Education has negotiated several province-wide software licenses.
Some can be installed throughout your school either for free, or in
other cases for a very modest fee. Examples include the All the Right
Type keyboarding tutorial and the ACDSee picture management program.
AppleWorks is a very good word processor/spreadsheet/graphics
combination with both Mac and Windows versions available for an
affordable $3.50 per computer.
Or
take a look at my
presentation on free
software for teachers...
