The most-used software on many home computers remains the word processor. OpenOffice has all the bells and whistles expected of a work suite, and performs letter-writing and accounting duties with aplomb. Anyone familiar with Microsoft’s Office will feel at home, and although the appearance is slightly rough and ready, the word processor, spreadsheet and presentation software are professional. Working on Windows, Mac and Linux, OpenOffice is compatible with Word and Excel, so anything you create can be read by friends or colleagues with the Microsoft software. You can also export documents to the print-friendly, stable Adobe PDF format. Presentations — as well as PowerPoint files — can output in HTML, which is handy for creating web pages. Compares well with the £200 Office XP.
The Gimp, once you get past its dubious name, is a powerful image editor that would suit anyone wanting to test the graphical waters without splashing out £600 on Adobe’s Photoshop. Import an image and use the software’s tools and styles to change its appearance and feel — adding tints to sunsets, blurring romantic shots or layering images to create a collage. It’s ideal if you are running an amateur newsletter. Although the program is reasonably intuitive, anyone new to image editing will need the Help file’s tips. Two issues carry the fingerprints of The Gimp’s freebie status. First, the interface — made up of four separate floating windows — feels clumsy, and tools are illogically ordered. Second, setup could be simpler: you have to download additional compiler programs (instructions are on the website) before the software will work.
ECONOMIC E-MAIL
Thunderbird — from www.mozilla.org
A powerful alternative to Outlook
Thunderbird is an e-mail package that manages your messages impressively. Perhaps the best facet is its ease of use. When you install the software, it imports settings and addresses from Outlook or other e-mail software, and will even pull in unopened e-mail from your old e-mail program. Thunderbird looks like a cross between Outlook Express and a web browser, so navigating your messages is intuitive. The built-in self-training filter helps keep the trash at bay, but you have to monitor this feature and check that e-mails you want aren’t herded in with the junk. Like most free software, you must rely on FAQs and forums for help if you run into trouble.
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DIGITAL BINMAN
Spybot Search and Destroy — from www.safer-networking.org/en
Protection from petty intruders
Spyware and other software infestations are responsible for slowing down computers, racking up high phone bills through rogue diallers, even stealing passwords by key-logging. Spybot’s Search and Destroy is one of the best tools (free or otherwise) for removing this digital detritus from a computer. The software scans your system for resident evils, clears them from your hard drive and watches for new intrusions. Simple to set up, the program takes about half an hour to scan and clear your machine. Input the web address directly into your browser, as searches often bring up impostors. It’s worth using this in conjunction with the Which? award winner Ad-Aware (www.lavasoft.com), because two heads are better than one.
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Stewart Mitchell