Are you aware of the fact that the Microsoft Office suite can easily cost more than a brand new computer? Did you know that brand new computers do NOT come with the Microsoft Office suite, and if they do, they are either expensive or only have a 30-day trial package? This is just one of the many ways that software is becoming comparatively more expensive. MS Office 97 packages could be had for around $300 "back in the day," but I have heard of the newest versions of office costing as much as the $400 range now. This is just one of many examples showing how software, when compared to new computers dropping below the $300 mark, is starting to look very costly. Here is a short list of the current (as of June 2007) prices on some popular software at a local computer retailer:

• Windows Vista Home Basic (for new PCs): $99.99
• Windows Vista Ultimate (for new PCs): $219.99
• Windows Server 2003, Small Business edition (for new PCs): $479.99
• Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student (retail version): $147.99 (Word, Excel, Powerpoint only)
• Microsoft Office 2007 Small Business (OEM version, no books): $269.99 (adds Outlook and Publisher)
• Norton Anti-Virus 2007 (OEM version): $39.99 (1 year of updates, I DO NOT RECOMMEND NORTON ANTIVIRUS OR SYMANTEC PRODUCTS!)
• Webroot Spy Sweeper (Retail version): $29.99 (I also do not recommend Spy Sweeper)
• Microsoft Project 2003 Standard (actually from TigerDirect.com as of Feb 2007): $550 (OUCH!!!)

Are you aware that you can replace every single piece of software listed above (and more) can be replaced, in whole or in part, by free software? I'm sure that by now, you are horribly skeptical. After all, something that is FREE couldn't possibly be as good as something that you PAY FOR, right?

Wrong.

Consider Microsoft Office against the free rival, OpenOffice.org. OpenOffice.org comes with a word processor, spreadsheet, database, slideshow presentation program, and more, with most of the same features you can find in Microsoft Office. The only differences are that commands and settings are a little different, and you can download and install OpenOffice.org (yes, the name of the product has .org on the end) for free, even when the version number goes up. Microsoft Office will cost you at least $206, and that's after one of those totally annoying "rebates" and requires that you are upgrading over Office XP, 2000, 97, etc. I have personally worked with an office that used OO.o on one computer instead of MS Office 2000, and the employee using it never really had a single problem out of it; in fact, OpenOffice.org Writer looks and feels similar to MS Word 2003. The company saved hundreds by not licensing an extra MS Office installation, and productivity was no different than with MS Office. Software like this that is free is not flawed simply because it is free!

What about Windows XP or Windows Vista? The answer is Linux. Operating systems based on the Linux kernel have come a very long way since its birth in 1992 (the link shows screenshots of the K Desktop Environment, which is very similar in organization to Windows). Many of the major Linux distributions are not much harder to install than Windows, and provide similar graphical interfaces that are easy to use, and even provide pre-built copies of THOUSANDS of free software packages (like Firefox, OpenOffice.org, The GIMP, and more) that you can download and install easily. For businesses that can't afford to upgrade to Windows Vista (and most small businesses have to dish out hundreds on the HARDWARE just to make it handle Vista's high system requirements!), Linux can provide a very lucrative alternative to Windows in every way. Best of all, there are programs available that run on Linux that can readily replace the expensive programs you pay for now. The GIMP replaces PhotoShop and Paint Shop Pro, Audacious replaces Adobe Audition and Cool Edit, XMMS or BMPx are clones of Winamp, GnuCash can effectively replace QuickBooks...the software is there, waiting for you, and it costs nothing! And if you happen to have an old Pentium II lying around with a measly 64 megs of RAM and an aging Windows 98 OS, you'd be surprised how fast and stable Linux can be on such an old machine, especially if you select a lightweight Linux distribution such as Xubuntu or even the super-lightweight Fluxbuntu (pending release as of this writing).

There are also free programs that actually do a better job than some costly major brand-name packages. For example, avast! antivirus is much smaller, faster, and more reliable than anything offered by Symantec or McAfee. Spybot Search and Destroy has always been a free program. FileZilla is an equal, if not better, replacement for CuteFTP Professional and similar FTP software, and I have personally deployed it to two businesses who are thrilled with how easy it is to set up and use, especially compared to CuteFTP. Mozilla Firefox costs nothing as well, and replaces Internet Explorer VERY nicely.

No matter what you want to do with your computer, Tritech may be able to help you find ways to cut costs through free software, either during new computer purchases or software/hardware upgrade cycles. Whether you own a business or are just a college student, you can save money if you know where to look for your software. Feel free to call me and ask about the free alternatives to the expensive software that you may be looking at right now.