Roughly ten years ago the terms freeware and free software were regularly used for software that was free to install but then frequently had an annual license, or renewal fee after a certain number of uses. Over recent years the Open Source community has really started to thrive.

OPEN OFFICE

If you are user of Microsoft Office products (word, excel, powerpoint, access, etc...) then you will be pleased to read that the Open Office does everything that Microsoft's offering does but does it all for free!

It's also got a the very useful option for creating PDF's so you can open and edit your .DOC file and when you've finished with it simply save as PDF to use on the web. Neat!

Open Source Software is a fantastic concept bringing the advantages of free software to computer users all over the globe.

• Want to phone someone for free? Use Skype!
• Want the latest antivirus and antispyware for free? Use AVG!
• Want to Microsoft Office software but dont want to spend your hard earned pocket money? Check the incredible Openoffice!

The amazing thing is millions of internet users dont know these applications exist and still wander into computer shops and online ecommerce sites and spend $$$ when then they dont necessarily need to.