Five Free Software Downloads for Productivity

You can find thousands of free software downloads on the Internet. Some free downloads can be used for entertainment, and other programs are more suitable for productivity. When it comes to productivity, there are a couple of notable free software programs (open source software, freeware, shareware, etc.) that can rival retail software costing hundreds of dollars.

Found Something Helpful on YouTube? Try the BienneSoft YouTube Downloader.

The YouTube Downloader is a tiny piece of software that is indispensable for many avid web users. With this program, you can download YouTube videos in a snap (based on the speed of your Internet connection). You might be surprised at all of the helpful tutorials available free on YouTube - you can download them with this software, and learn at your own pace. The folks at BienneSoft are proactive, and they react swiftly to YouTube updates with new releases of their software to keep on pace with YouTube.

*All of the free software programs listed in this article have multiple YouTube tutorials.

Can't Afford Adobe DreamWeaver? Give Kompozer a try.

Kompozer is a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) HTML editor that has been around for many years. Of course, there are literally hundreds of web design software packages on the market, but Adobe Dreamweaver is the industry standard - and Dreamweaver is incredibly expensive. Kompozer can be a little buggy at times, but it is an excellent tool to produce a simple website, and there are many free tutorials all over the Internet.

CamStudio, an Affordable Answer to Camtasia Studio

If you ever have a need to record your on-screen activities, CamStudio software is a perfect solution. The industry standard for screen shot capabilities is a costly program made by TechSmith called Camtasia Studio. Although CamStudio does not have all of the capabilities of its expensive rival, it will get the job done for most people.

No Dough for Photoshop? Try Gimp

Gimp is a powerful free photo editing software program that has been around for years. If you want to edit photos and documents, but you do not have the cash to layout for a super-expensive program like Adobe Photoshop, Gimp is your answer. Just as with Kompozer, there are dozens of free tutorials on the Internet.

Can't Afford Microsoft Office? Try OpenOffice

If you lack the ability to shell out several hundred dollars for the Microsoft Office Suite, you might want to check out the OpenOffice suite. OpenOffice provides a viable answer for Microsoft Word ('Writer', a word processor), Microsoft Excel ('Calc', a spreadsheet program), Microsoft PowerPoint ('Impress', presentation software), and Microsoft Access ('Base', a database program). Along with the four basic productivity suite programs, OpenOffice includes 'Draw,' a powerful graphics and illustration program.

A Few Things to Consider about Free Software

When you choose to download free software, you need to understand that there is a danger of downloading malicious files as well. If you make the choice to download a free program, you need to make sure it comes from a reputable, virus-free source - CNET's Download.com is one such source. You can find all of the software programs listed in this article at download.com.

Free software will probably not perform exactly the same as an expensive retail competitor...but you cannot expect the same when the price tag is $0. Check out some of the software listed above, you just might be quite impressed.

*It probably goes without saying that Linux is the quintessential free software program, so I did not include a review...but, if you have just purchased a bare bones computer (sans operating system, ie: Microsoft Windows), Linux might just be your new best friend.

www.cnet.com