Free Technology You May Need

Microsoft Word Alternatives
First of all we need to address the lack of Microsoft Word on everyone's computer.
Now there are a lot of programs that are free that can replaced it, and I've tested a few. One that most people like is Open Office. I wasn't wild about it ( because it was more like word pad and not word) but some people swear by it. Jarte is also similar to word pad, but I believe it may let you save things as word documents.  Other alternatives include Abiword and Qjot. I haven't tested the last three so I can't speak to their functionality.

Now, of course, there is always out happy little GoogleDocs which I like because it's automatically accessible anywhere.  Another web based word processor, that works with your google log in, is ThinkFree. I haven't tested this one, but some people like it better than Google Docs.


Flash Drive Alternatives
First, of course I advocate google because it's more likely to be stable than other places. You COULD make a google site page and upload your files there like I do assignments. That aside we have synergy at school, but that one isn't always functioning. Now other things you can use might be Drop Box. I'm currently testing that one this week. So far it's pretty comfortable and also you can link more than one computer and a mobile device. On the internet "cloud based" or server based uploading is really taking off, While 5-10 years ago, Hernandez had to turn the internet upside down looking for a web based free server, they're in abundance now. A few I can't speak for but have heard some buzz about are Dmailer (this is a more a back up your computer files then really a online place to constantly access your files) Syncplicity ( be careful with this one. I'm not sure you can access these files if the computer source is not always online) Sparkle Share (Only for Linux and Mac right now) Sugar Sync (which is suppose to be amazing because a friend of mine bought an account for me to play with, but I haven't activated it yet)  Box, Wuala and Spider Oak

Now things to look out for, if you don't have to upload it anywhere that means that more likely than not your computer has to be on while you're away to be able to access your information .

If you ever are looking for an alternative program you may wan to stop by Alternative To. Net. It's a good place to read and compare.


Pirated Music Alternatives
This is a fun one for you guys. I like being able to get whatever music I want whenever I want. So with Piracy being bad and killing record companies I got with music sites. Most of these sites pay to play their music and thus will once in a while have an advertisement like the radio. The big difference is that it has a lot of music to choose from.
Spotify is a great one, but it's by invitation only. Usually you can just ask for an invitation and in 3 days you will have one. It allows you to find music, things that sound like that music, and listen to entire new CDs before buying them. I like it a little better than Pandora just because when I KNOW what I want I can go get it. Now I run Pandora all the time though because it allows me to just hit play and hear things that match a style of music. Also since I don't have to look for variety it allows me to find new things I like by accident. Stereo Mood is good for wanting something to suit a mood, and  Groove Shark is another.