{"id":297,"date":"2010-04-08T14:09:00","date_gmt":"2010-04-08T13:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.celesteh.com\/blog\/2010\/04\/08\/free-cd-for-windows\/"},"modified":"2015-06-19T00:23:44","modified_gmt":"2015-06-18T23:23:44","slug":"free-cd-for-windows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.celesteh.com\/blog\/2010\/04\/08\/free-cd-for-windows\/","title":{"rendered":"The Free CD for Windows"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday, I gave a talk about FOSS and music. I handed out modified copies of the Fossbox<\/a> Free CD for windows. Here is the readme file that came with the CDs, along with links for where to download the software. For an additional resource, you should also check out Open Source Windows<\/a>
\n

Welcome to the Fossbox Free CD<\/H1>
\nThe free CD gives you a taster of the free
\nsoftware options available for Windows. In this document, you’ll find
\na brief description of the software and links to instructions for
\ninstalling it. You can find free
\ntutorials and books to help you get the best from the software<\/A> on
\nthe Fossbox website. <\/p>\n

Note that if you
\nwould like to buy Microsoft Office products, registered charities can
\nbuy discounted MS software from Charity
\nTechnology Exchange (CTX)<\/A>. Please note, this is available only to
\nregistered charities. <\/p>\n

Anti-virus software and security<\/H2>
\nClamWin<\/a> is a
\nfree anti-virus programme. Download it here.<\/a> This is free to any kind of user and it’s a small application which
\nwon’t slow your older PC down too much. It automatically scans email
\nattachments in Outlook but not Thunderbird and it doesn’t scan files
\non your hard-drive unless you do this manually. <\/p>\n

If you want automatic
\nscanning, there are several commercial anti-virus products on the
\nmarket which are free for private individuals but not for registered
\ncharities or non-profits. You will need to register and pay on their
\nsite to use them if you are anything other than an individual home
\nuser. They’re not included on the CD for copyright reasons. <\/p>\n

Avira<\/B> is one
\nof the smallest (that is, it doesn’t slow your PC much) and you
\ncan download Avira’s free version for home use here<\/A>. If you’re an
\norganisation, they offer discounts for non-profits so it’s worth
\nemailing them and asking for a discount. <\/p>\n

Kaspersky
\nAnti-Virus (KAV)<\/B> is very highly rated for security (but it has no
\nfree version). Kaspersky offers a free
\none-off scan<\/A> here or you can download
\na trial version or buy KAV here<\/A> <\/p>\n

There is already a
\nsimple firewall included with XP<\/B> which will help protect your
\nPC from invasion via the internet. If you are using a USB modem you
\nmight want something stronger. Zonealarm<\/B><\/A>
\nhas a free version of their very effective firewall<\/A> for
\nnon-commercial use (which includes all non-profits). <\/p>\n

Is your PC really
\ncrawling along? <\/B>When you are browsing with XP’s own browser you
\nwill usually find that the browser gets slower and slower over time.
\nThis is because some corporations attach little bits of software to
\nyour browser to track you around the web. You can reduce this problem
\nby using Firefox<\/B> instead (see ‘Browsing the internet’ section
\nbelow). You can ‘clean’ your browser by using a simple programme
\ncalled Ad-aware<\/B>. This can’t be included on the CD for
\ncopyright reasons but you can download the free
\nversion of Adaware here<\/A>. Adaware’s makers, Lavasoft, also offer
\ndiscounts to non-profits on their security software. <\/p>\n

Office and project software<\/H2>
\nOpen Office<\/a> is a free
\nalternative to MS Office. It’s very similar and most people are able
\nto get started and carry on as usual without any special training to
\nuse it. T has a word processor, a spreadsheet, presentation and
\ndata-base with wizards. Download it here.<\/a> There is a checkbox on the download page that you should leave checked. To get you
\nstarted using
\nOpen Office you’ll find tutorials here<\/A> and some
\nflash tutorials here<\/A>. <\/p>\n

Foxit<\/A>
\n<\/B>is a free viewer for
\n.pdf files which is very light and won’t slow your PC down. Foxit<\/B>
\nis copyrighted but you can download it here<\/a>. This software will allow you to read
\npdf files and fill in interactive pdf forms. You can get tech support
\nat their
\nsite<\/A>. <\/p>\n

Scribus<\/A>
\nis a free Desktop Publisher. Download it here.<\/a> You’ll
\nfind free
\nScribus video tutorials here<\/A>
\nOpen
\nWorkbench<\/A> <\/B>is a free project management <\/B>application. Download it here<\/a>. Open
\nWorkbench’s community support is here<\/A>
\n

Internet<\/H2>
\nThunderbird<\/A>
\nis a free email programme<\/B>. Download it here<\/a>. To get started using Thunderbird
\nyou will find illustrated
\ntutorials here<\/A>. <\/p>\n

If you would like a
\ncalendar, this can be added to Thunderbird. Follow
\nthese illustrated instructions to add a calendar<\/A>. <\/p>\n

You will find
\nMicrosoft Outlook Express pre-installed with XP. This is a simple and
\nbasic email programme \u2015
\nbut is prone to viruses. Thunderbird is simple and has more features.<\/p>\n

Browsing the internet<\/H3>
\nWindows XP has a web browser called Internet
\nExplorer. You open it by clicking on the blue ‘e’
\n .icon on your desktop. <\/p>\n

There’s an alternative browser called Firefox<\/a><\/B>. Firefox does not pick up as much ‘malware’ as you browse
\nthe internet and has stronger privacy and security controls. Download it here<\/a>. You can also find illustrated
\ninstructions for installing Firefox here<\/A>. <\/p>\n

Website editor<\/H3>
\nTo help you make simple websites, Kompozer<\/B><\/A>
\nis a visual HTML editor<\/B> with formatting buttons. Download it here<\/a>. You’ll find free
\nKompozer tutorials here<\/A>
\nThese tutorials are for a previous version of
\nKompozer called NVU but Kompozer is almost identical so you should be
\nable to get started:
\nhttp:\/\/www.designyourownweb.com\/nvu\/settingup-nvu.htm<\/A> <\/p>\n

To upload website files to the internet, you need
\nan FTP client so check out <\/B>Filezilla<\/A>. Download it here<\/a>. Your
\nISP will be able to give you the login information you need to set it
\nup \u2013 ask the people you rent your website space from.<\/B> <\/p>\n

Graphics<\/H2>
\nThere are three graphics programmes included on
\nthe CD. <\/p>\n

If you want to do serious photo-editing, you need
\nthe GIMP,<\/A> a
\nfully-featured graphics programme<\/B>. Download it here.<\/a> Free
\nGIMP tutorials here<\/A>
\nInkscape<\/A>
\nis vector drawing software. Download it here<\/a>. You’ll find tutorials
\nfor Inkscape here<\/A> <\/p>\n

Paint.NET<\/A>
\nis another image editor. Download it here<\/a>.
\nNote
\nthat Open Office <\/B>also
\nhas a vector drawing application. <\/p>\n

Media<\/B><\/H2>
\nMulti-media player<\/B>
\nVLC<\/A>
\n<\/B>is
\na light and versatile alternative to Windows Media Player. Download it here.<\/a>
\nRipping DVDs<\/B>
\nHandBrake<\/A><\/B>
\nis a DVD ripper. Download it here<\/a>.
\nVideo Editing<\/B>
\nVirtualDub<\/A><\/B>
\nis a crude cut-and-paste video editor that takes interesting and
\nunusual custom plug-ins. Download it here<\/a>.
\nProcessing<\/A><\/B>
\nis an open source programming language environment for people who
\nwant to program images, animation and interactions. Download it here<\/a>.\/P>
\n

Making CDs<\/H3>
\nIf you have a CD ROM capable of burning disks,
\n<\/B>CDBurnerXP<\/A>
\nis free CD burning software<\/B> which will create data, audio or disk
\nimage (ISO) CDs. Download it here<\/a>. It’s called CDBurnerXP but it
\nworks fine with Vista. <\/p>\n



<\/p>\n

Sound<\/B><\/H2>
\nEditor<\/B>
\nAudacity<\/A>
\nis a light-weight sound editor. There is a stable version and a beta version. The beta has more and better features, but you will need to save early and often. If that worries you, get the stable version instead. Download either version here<\/a>.
\nProgramming<\/B>
\nPd<\/A>
\nis a real-time graphical dataflow programming environment for audio,
\nvideo and graphical processing. It is especially useful for rapid
\nprototyping and can be used to write reactive music or the iPhone via
\nthe RjD<\/A>j app. Download it here<\/a>. If you want to write for iPhone, pick the vanilla version. Otherwise, get the extended version.
\nSuperCollider<\/A>
\nis an environment and programming language for real time audio
\nsynthesis and algorithmic composition. It has a bit of a learning
\ncurve, however, it is extremely
\npowerful and useful. Download
\nit here<\/I><\/A>.
\n

Accounting<\/B><\/H2>
\n

GNUCash<\/H3>
\nGNUCash<\/A>
\nis simple and basic accounting software designed for home and
\nsmall-business use. Download
\nit here <\/I><\/A>and
\n <\/I>Free
\ntutorials for GNUCash here<\/A>
\n

TurboCash<\/H3>
\nTurbocash<\/A>
\nis a professional accounting system including debtors, creditors,
\ngeneral ledger, full stock control, VAT accounting, invoicing, bank
\nreconciliation, trial balance, balance sheet and income statements,
\nfull reporting and analysis, as well as mutli-company and multi-user
\ncapabilities. <\/p>\n

Download
\nit here<\/I><\/A>. <\/I>TurboCash is, apparently, easy to learn
\nif you’re an experienced bookkeeper or accountant but it’s definitely
\nnot for beginners. If you’re inexperienced use GNUCash. <\/B><\/I> <\/p>\n

Portable Apps<\/H2>
\nPotable apps is a great idea \u2013 if you move
\naround a lot and use different PCs you’ve probably experienced the
\nfrustration that your bookmarks and emails etc aren’t with you. If
\nyou have a USB stick or external HD you can install the Portable Apps
\nSuite with a couple of clicks. <\/p>\n

Portable apps puts a little icon in your system
\ntray (down at the bottom-right on XP) and when you click on it a menu
\npops up allowing you to choose Firefox, Thunderbird and many other
\nfamiliar free software applications. <\/p>\n

This means you always have your bookmarks and your
\nfamiliar software and when you use portable apps on someone else’s PC
\nit leaves no trace on their computer of your session \u2013 which is
\ngreat for your privacy and you don’t leave a mess behind you. <\/p>\n

Download it here<\/a>. Pick the “Suite Standard” if your USB stick is one gigabyte or bigger. Otherwise, pick the “Suite Light.” Once you’ve downloaded it, To install portable apps, insert your USB stick or
\nHD and make sure it has at least 200 MB of space free. Run the .exe program that you just downloaded. Make
\nsure you install it to the root of the USB device (that is, not
\ninside another folder). If you’re not sure, there’s
\na video tutorial here<\/A>
\n

Try Ubuntu without
\ndisturbing Windows<\/H2>
\nWubi<\/A>
\ninstalls the Ubuntu operating system so that it runs like any other
\nbit of software within Windows without messing up your Windows system
\nin any way. If you decide you don’t want it, you can also uninstall
\nit from ‘Add and Remove Programs’ in the Windows Conrol Panel. Download it here<\/a>.
\nThere are
\nstep-by-step
\nillustrated instructions on using the Wubi installer<\/A>
\nhere and there’s a video
\ntutorial on YouTube which takes you through installing and using
\nUbuntu with Wubi here<\/A> <\/p>\n

There are
\ninstructions
\nfor installing and uninstalling Wubi here<\/A> <\/p>\n



<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yesterday, I gave a talk about FOSS and music. I handed out modified copies of the Fossbox Free CD for windows. Here is the readme file that came with the CDs, along with links for where to download the software. For an additional resource, you should also check out Open Source Windows Welcome to the … Continue reading The Free CD for Windows<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":4,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[76,70],"class_list":["post-297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised","tag-celesteh","tag-floss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.celesteh.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.celesteh.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.celesteh.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.celesteh.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.celesteh.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=297"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.celesteh.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2503,"href":"https:\/\/www.celesteh.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297\/revisions\/2503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.celesteh.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.celesteh.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.celesteh.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}