Free Alternatives to PhotoShop, MsOffice and Antivirus/Security software

In this day and age there are so many programs available for free that it's just not necessary to spend any money. In this post I'm giving you some alternatives to PhotoShop, MsOffice, and Antivirus/Security programs that will be of great benefit.

Two free alternatives to MsOffice Suite
OpenOffice - This suite has applications that look very similar to MsOffice. They have Writer (Word), Impress (PowerPoint), Math (Excel), and Base (Access).

The best part is that you can even save your documents as MsOffice documents so anyone with MsOffice can open and work on the documents. It's a very easy suite to learn if you know MsOffice because even the menus look similar.


Just like MsOffice, OpenOffice has templates available within the applications and also has more available online for you to download for free.

Google Docs - Is a free suite that has also similar types of documents as MsOffice as well.

This suite is available by logging into your online Google account and any documents you create are saved online. The great thing about Google Docs is that you also have the option to save the documents on your PC as either as PDF, PPT, Doc, XLS and other types. Just like MsOffice, Google Docs has over 400 templates available for you to use.
You can also manage your documents through facebook by adding the Google Docs application. If the login credentials are the same for facebook and Google when you add the application it will automatically interface with your Google Docs account.
Another great feature Google Docs is the share feature. You can share your documents with others and allow them to edit the documents.

Since this is an online application you also have the advantage of being able to organize your documents by folders just like in your e-mail inbox.

Check out Google Docs in Plain English video.



Two free alternatives to PhotoShop
PhotoShop is a great application for those that really need to edit images and photos. For the average person that only needs to do some minor changes and effects to their photos or graphics there are other solutions that work very well and that are free.

Picnik - This is a great online photo and graphic editor. They have a free version and also a paid version ($24.95 a year) but trust me, the free version is enough.

With Picnik you can crop, resize, rotate, apply special effects, fine-tune your results and all of this is working from on your browser, there is nothing to download.

You can select photos available either on your PC or available on any of your accounts in MySpace, flickr, facebook, photobucket, Picasa, Webshots, and Webs.

Everything is saved to your online Library, but you also have the option to save it on your PC as well or to share it on other sites such as Twitter, facebook, flickr, etc...
Picnik is available as an application on facebook and you can manage both your online account photos and your facebook photos. Just remember to Sign in if you need to access your online photos.

SplashUp - is another great alternative to PhotoShop and it's probably the one that has the most common features as well. SplashUp is another online editor with a twist. Sign up for a free account but don't be discouraged by the tools showcased on the home page, that's nothing.

When you click on Jump Right In on the Home page, a new window pops up with the editor which looks very similar to it's contender.

The nifty online editor has multiple image editing, pixel-level control and layers. You can work on images located on your PC or on facebook, Picasa, flickr, SmugMug, photobucket or display an image by URL. You can also save your images on these sites as well.

Three Free Alternatives for Antivirus/Security Software

There are several free alternatives available that work just as good as any paid Antivirus and Security software.

The following two were recommended by Consumer Reports as Best Buys even though they are free :O)

Avira AntiVir Personal - This software includes AntiSpam, AntiSpyware, Firewall, EMail protection and Parental control.

Microsoft Windows Defender - This software protects your PC against pop-ups, slow performance and security threats caused by spyware and other potentially unwanted software. This comes automatically with Windows Vista and it's also compatible to Windows XP.

Avast Home Edition - Great full AntiVirus software. The only thing some people may not like is that when you initially register the software you receive a license key only good for 60 days and then you need to register again to get license key good for 1 year, and you must register annually after that. But hey the software is free!

Some recommendations for finding free software:

Before you buy any software search on sites like download.com, tucows.com, and Freeware Files. You can also do a search on Google for example, search for free antivirus software. Chances are you will find a free version of it.

After you find names of free software, search for reviews on it. Even though it's free you don't want to use something that doesn't work, right?

You can find a bigger list of free alternative software at Web 2.0 Applications Reviews wiki.

What free alternatives do you use? Or tell us your experience if you've used any of the software mentioned in the post.

App Top List: 3 More iPhone Photo Apps for your collection

If you're into photography I suggest you search the app store constantly because a lot of apps are being developed to enhance your photos. I've already reviewed my Top 5 iPhone Photo Apps back in January and now I review 3 more photos apps for your collection.

Photogene - wouldn't it be great to have PhotoShop available on your iPhone? Of course it would, well it's not available yet but Photogene is. With Photogene you can crop, apply filters, color adjustment, exposure, and saturation. You can also enhance your photos with effects, frames, borders, and even rotate the image. You have the option to edit photos from your library or taking a new one. Photogene brings photo editing to another level and it's just so simple to use. The app is $2.99 but it's well worth it.

Here are a couple of photo enhancements done with Photogene.

This photo was cropped, and a border was added.



Captions were added in seconds to explain to my friends something that was happening at the moment.


Check out the video from our friends at AppVee so you can see more features available.


Download Photogene.


ColorSplash - With this app, you can give your photos a dramatic black and white look while keeping the original color in certain areas. After the photo is converted to black and white you can use your fingers as a brush to bring back the original color in certain areas, you can even zoom in and out (using pinching) to make the process easier. You have the option to edit a photo from the library or take a new one as well. This app is only $1.99 but it's a great addition in your iPhone.

Here is an example of a photo enhanced with ColorSplash.



Check out this video from the App Store Reviewer to see more features available.


Download ColorSpash.


PhotoArtist - Most of the reviews I've seen on this app are not great but I think it's because the app is being confused with a photo editor and it's not. The name implies it all Photo Art. You can select any of the photos in your library or take a new one and then apply any of the following six filters: cartoon, watercolor, illustration, halftone, mono, and pen and your photo is turned into art. It's not a photo editor like Photoshop or like the Photogene app reviewed in this post. It converts your photo's into artwork as the name indicates and it does a great job at it. It's only $1.99 and I think it's well worth it. Your artwork is saved in your library or you can opt to share them on PhotoShare.


Here are a couple of examples:
Illustration filter:



Watercolor filter:



Pen filter:


Download PhotoArtist.

I hope this quick review is helpful to you. If you've use these apps let us know what you think or even better share your photos with us.