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DOWNLOADS — Freeware or Open-Source
I primarily use "freeware" or "open source" software on my home computer, partly to avoid paying for expensive programs, and partly to encourage more software developers to take this route. Many of today's free and open-source programs are just as good as — and in some cases better than — the programs you pay for. Below are some of the programs I recommend.

• Mozilla Firefox (web browser) — Firefox screenshot •
Though Internet Explorer has made great strides, it's still no Firefox. I've used a dozen different browsers in the past seven years, and Firefox is easily the best browser I've found, and is almost completely customizable. It works in Windows, Linux, and OSX (for Macs). For more information on Firefox, try the Wikipedia article.

• Mozilla Thunderbird (email client) — Thunderbird screenshot •
At first, you'd think it's just like Outlook Express, but then you realize it's so much better. First, there's the customizable interface and the extra skins ("themes"). Then there's the "junk folder" algorithm which is surprisingly intuitive. Plus, it's free.

• PhotoFiltre (Photo editor) — PhotoFiltre screenshot •
All the pros will tell you that Adobe Photoshop is the way to go, if you want great results when editing photos. But that costs hundreds of dollars. It's even $90 just for Photoshop Elements. If you want a free photo editor that's not only easy to use, but actually has power editing tools, try PhotoFiltre. With a few plugins added, it can easily control levels, and it has built-in tools for precise control of sharpness, softness, saturation, hue, and more. Give it a shot.

• EditPad Lite (Text editor) — EditPad Lite screenshot •
If you never use plain text, don't write your own web pages, or think Windows' Notepad is just fine, then ignore this program. Everyone else will want it. EditPad Lite is a high-powered text editor, with quite a few options. It uses almost no system resources, handles multiple text files in a tabbed interface, and can handle documents of any size, unlike Notepad. All of my web pages were written using EditPad Lite (see the screenshot, which is the html of this page.

• xplorer2 lite (File browser) — xplorer2 lite screenshot •
Not long after I got my first Windows computer, I became frustrated with Windows' file system and its limitations. xplorer2 lite is a free version of a very powerful, easily customizable file browser. It supports two-pane viewing, multiple tabs, image preview, two-pane synchronization, and many more features not found in Windows Explorer.

• WinAmp (media player) — WinAmp screenshot •
If you're like me, you got tired of Windows' media player about six years ago. It didn't take long to realize that WinAmp was a much easier player to work with. It's free, small, easy to control, and has dozens of skins and themes to work with. Check it out.

• RocketDock (file launcher) — RocketDock screenshot •
If you like the "dock" feature of the Mac, but still can only afford Windows (or just prefer Windows for other reasons), try RocketDock. It sits at the edge of you screen — and can auto-hide if you wish — waiting for you to hover over it and launch an application. Looks better than Windows' Quick Launch toolbar, and uses very little resources.

• Launchy (file launcher) — Launchy screenshot •
It's very simple. Click ALT and SPACEBAR at the same time, and Launchy appears (see screenshot). Type two or three letters from the name of the program, and the program will appear in Launchy's right side. Click ENTER, and the application launches. Keyboard shortcut artists will love it. The rest of you, if you try it, will soon realize that it's easier than searching through an extensive Start Menu to find an item.

Other Programs
The following programs are still free, and I've enjoyed them in the past, but don't use them as much anymore. They're still worth a look.

• VirtuaWin — For those who can't afford (or don't have room for) extra monitors, this program gives you that extra desktop real estate you're looking for.

• Nvu — Free web page designer. For those who haven't bothered to learn all the complex code that goes into building a webpage, but want to build one anyway. (It's what I used for this site, before I figured out html code on my own)

• TagScanner — For large collections of .mp3 files, there's no better tag editor than TagScanner. It can edit all the metadata you'd care to work on, and do it batches, too.

BLOGS

• My Xanga blog — My blog. I used to blog daily; now it's more like weekly.
• Verily I Say — Less about my personal life, more like editorials
• My SmugMug — Want prints of my photos? This is the link to click
• My Flickr — A photo blog, for the most part (sports, news, family, etc.)
• Giant Muh — Richard Barron's blog

WEBSITES

• Richard Barron — The home page of an award-winning photographer
• Steve Boots — Steve Boots photography (a good friend of mine, and an excellent photographer)
• Kambri Crews — The website of my cousin Kambri
• Bill Repucci — My cousin-in-law Bill is all about airplanes

INFORMATION

• Seminole, Oklahoma — Everything you need to know about Seminole County, Okla., and then some
• Seminole's Weather — Local weather according to Yahoo!
• Wikipedia — The ultimate online encyclopedia
• IMDB — International Movie Database. Anything you need to know about any movie, actor, etc.
• Death Statistics — Interesting numbers on death
• Fandango — Nationwide showtimes for movies

NEWS SITES

• Google News — Customizable news source that searches 4,500 sources all the time
• CNN — Setting the standard for a while now
• USA Today — The nation's most widely-read newspaper
• Reuters — Top news from around the world
• Wired.com — Tech news
• LifeHacker — Tech-oriented guide to making things easier
• The Seminole Producer — This is Seminole County's only newspaper

MISCELLANEOUS

• The Onion — The best fake news in America — much funnier than the fake news in the New York Times

• The Best Photos — Keep clicking "reload" to see the best photos from all over the world

• T-shirt Hell — Where all the bad T-shirts go. These are the rudest T-shirts on the planet. And the funniest, unless you have morals

• Political Compass — I know you think you're liberal, but how do you stack up to the rest of the world? This site's simple test will measure you and place you on a graph. More than anything, it's fun

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