Yup, as promised, here are the must-have freebies. Be advised, there are lots more, but this set will do just about everything you need to do for far less moola than what the for-purchase ones will set you back. 

OpenOffice.org 3 is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in many languages and works on all common computers. It stores all your data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages. It can be downloaded and used completely free of charge for any purpose. The price is much less than any version of Windows Office, in fact it’s FREE and…it does everything MS Office does. At first you need to do some minor tweeking, but once that’s done you r all set.

ImgBurn
There are many reasons we need a simple, fast way to burn disks. ImgBurn is a CD/DVD/HD-DVD/Blu-ray burning application that is fast, lightweight, and completely FREE.

With ImgBurn you can:

• backup your data or media files to DVD.
• backup your DVD movies to your PC.
• create Audio CDs from any music files such as MP3, WAV.
• create a duplicate copy of any DVD or music CD
• create video discs (DVD / HD DVD / Blu-ray) playable in your DVD player

ImgBurn supports a variety of image formats and almost all types of discs, so you don’t need to look any further for your disc burning needs. There is also a portable version that you can carry with you on your USB drive.

VLC media player is a highly portable, FREE, multimedia player and multimedia framework capable of reading most audio and video formats (MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.264, DivX, MPEG-1, mp3, ogg, aac ...) as well as DVDs, Audio CDs VCDs, and various streaming protocols. See the full features list on their web page.

It can also be used as a media converter or a server to stream in unicast or multicast in IPv4 or IPv6 on networks.

Foxit Reader is a FREE PDF document viewer, with small size, fast launch speed and rich feature set. Its core function is compatible with PDF Standard 1.7. In the past, you've had to download a huge PDF reader from another software company, go through a lengthy installation process and wait for an annoying splash window to disappear just to open a PDF document. IMHO, Adobe is kind of a pain!

PortableApps.com Suite  is a complete collection of portable apps including a web browser, email client, office suite, calendar/scheduler, instant messaging client, antivirus, audio player, sudoku game, password manager, PDF reader, minesweeper clone, backup utility and integrated menu, all preconfigured to work portably. Just drop it on your portable device and you're ready to go. Now you can carry your favorite computer programs along with all of your bookmarks, settings, email and more with you. Use them on any Windows computer. All without leaving any personal data behind. PortableApps.com provides a truly open platform that works with any hardware you like (USB flash drive, iPod, portable hard drive, etc). The entire platform is open source built around an open format that any hardware or software provider can use. The PortableApps.com Suite and Platform is free. It contains no spyware. There are no advertisements. It isn't a limited or trial version. There is no additional hardware or software to buy. You don't even have to give out your email address. It's 100% FREE to use, FREE to copy and FREE to share. Yah gotta love open source!

              

Picasa and Picasa Web
It’s been around a long time, and just keeps getting better! Fast, FREE  and easy photo sharing from Google. Together, Picasa & Picasa Web Albums make it easy for you to organize and edit your digital photos, then create online albums to share with friends, family & the world. Beautiful web albums show your photos at their best. View full-screen slideshows, see your pictures arranged on a global map, enjoy video playback, and more.  People matter in your photos. Google technology helps you automatically organize your photos based on the people in them, and works in Picasa and Picasa Web Albums. See name tags in Picasa Web Albums. Picasa automatically finds all the photos on your PC, wherever they are, and will organize them in seconds. Use Picasa to design and print beautiful photo collages, create fun video slideshows, add photo text or view your favorite photos on your desktop or screensaver. It's FREE to use Picasa is FREE to download, and Picasa Web Albums provides 1 gigabyte of FREE storage -- that's enough space for 4,000 wallpaper-size photos.

Glary Utilities
One Click A Day For PC Maintenance, Keeps Any PC Problems Away. With millions of worldwide users, the first-rank & free Glary Utilities is an INDISPENSABLE friend for your PC, with its 100% safe, thorough & quick cleaning and worry-free restoration. Glary Utilities is a FREE, with registry and disk cleaning, privacy protection, performance accelerator and amazing multifunctional tools. It can fix dogged registry errors, wipe off clutters, optimize internet speed, safeguard confidential files and maintain maximum performance. It is designed for both novice and professionals. User-friendly interface shows clear & detailed directions. For the novice, all work can be done with just 1 or 2 clicks, while for professionals, abundant options are available.

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
This one is really easy to use and of course, it’s FREE!. Here is what the folks who make it say:
Have you ever considered what makes an anti-malware application effective?  We at Malwarebytes have created an easy-to-use, simple, and effective anti-malware application. Whether you know it or not your computer is always at risk of becoming infected with viruses, worms, trojans, rootkits, dialers, spyware, and malware that are constantly evolving and becoming harder to detect and remove. Only the most sophisticated anti-malware techniques can detect and remove these malicious programs from your computer. Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware is considered to be the next step in the detection and removal of malware. In our product we have compiled a number of new technologies that are designed to quickly detect, destroy, and prevent malware. Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware can detect and remove malware that even the most well known anti-virus and anti-malware applications fail to detect. Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware monitors every process and stops malicious processes before they even start. The realtime protection module uses our advanced heuristic scanning technology which monitors your system to keep it safe and secure. In addition, we have implemented a threats center which will allow you to keep up to date with the latest malware threats. (Activating the full version unlocks realtime protection, scheduled scanning, and scheduled updating. For consumers and personal use, it is a one-time fee of $24.95.)

Memento (formerly PostIt) lets you keep notes on your desktop to remind you of information, dates, and times. It is focused on ease of use and simplicity. Notes are automatically saved every minute (if they have changed), can be collapsed into the note title bar, and you can change the color of the notes.

Features:

• double click memento icon on the taskbar to create a note
• show/hide notes on the desktop
• keep notes expanded or closed
• notes always remain on top of other windows
• position notes anywhere you like
• instant auto-save
• notes are resizable
• randomly makes each note a new color
• make notes transparent
• Oh, and it’s FREE {:-)

AVG Anti-Virus
I have used AVG FREE version for almost as long as I have had a PC and  highly recommend it to others. It’s easy to use, consumes a relatively small amount of system resources and auto-updates itself with virus definitions on a daily basis. Install it once and it will keep your system secure without your intervention. In all the time I have used it, it has never let me down.

For those of you who frequently shop online and do regular online banking, AVG recommends AVG Internet Security. While it’s not free, it does offer complete Internet Protection that will keep you safe even from advanced online threats.

Both Firefox and Google Chrome are excellent browsers. They are both fast, user-friendly and known to be secure. So, which one do you choose? The rule of thumb here is that you should use Firefox if you’re looking to add additional features (i.e. ad blocker, password manager, video downloader, page translator etc.) to your browser.

You can see all add-ons for Firefox at https://addons.mozilla.org/. There are extensions for Google Chrome as well, but the choice is rather limited. you can check them out at: http://www.mychromeaddons.com/.

That’s your list for now, if you’d like more, register at the top right of the Around Hawaii page so you can comment at the end of the column and tell me what other freebies you’d like to know about. Have fun but be safe out there.
Aloha, Lou