I was talking to someone the other day and he said, You get what you pay for. I said to him I get much I don’t pay for and I lurve free stuff. Seriously how many of you have actually looked at open source software and how many of you use open source packages daily?

I always used all the paid software while I was in the UK, path of least resistance, money to burn and so on. I slowly got onto the OSS bandwagon, one piece of software at a time. I bought myself a new PC yesterday and have paid for Vista business because I am not ready to try and work through all the issues in linux. But here’s the thing I don’t want to spend big bucks on software to make sure that I can do my job.

I have been using Open Office for months now.  I had to download a patch to see Office 2007 files but then again if I was using Office 2003 and couldn’t afford the upgrade I’d have to do the same.  I know that 2007 has some nifty tools but heres the thing I used word for typing letters, not much else. I use a spreadsheet to do some calculations. Since I moved onto MYSQL as a database Access has lost all of its charms, and then of course theres presentations.

I don’t know that presentations made with 2007 are any more effective than those made in Office 97. I can tell you that Open Office is also no slouch in this department.  Open office will save all your docs in Office format so that your spendthrift clients can still open them. It will open all the documents produced in word and here is the thing It cost bupkiss.

I also use Thunderbird as my email and calendar client. The anti spam measures are proving to be a godsend and once again I didn’t have to pay through the nose for the software.

There are a few other tools like camstudio, zoomit and so on that I use for all the things I do. I like free software. Today I am downloading GIMP to check it out. I have been using CS2 so I will be critical but I looked at CS4 and the prices are damned scary.

I am also on the lookout for some great video editing software. I looked at the CS4 suite but at close to R 25 000 it feels a little extravagant for what I have in mind.