There’s a ton of free software on the market, a lot of it total crap or loaded with malware. If you’ve just picked up a new netbook and are ready to head out on the road, here are the free (and spyware-free) gems I use almost daily. A couple are iPhone specific, so my apologies to anyone who can’t find a version that works with their mobile device.
www.icanhascheezburger.com (cut me some slack, I was desperate)
For writing:
- OpenOffice: Most of the functionality of Microsoft Office with none of the costs.
- GoogleDocs: This is where I write most of my documents when I’m connected, because it gives me instant access to them from any computer. It has an offline mode, but it’s a bit buggy on some computers & some browsers.
- Evernote: if there is one piece of software you HAVE to have as a writer and a traveler, it’s Evernote. It would take a whole post just to go into all the features, but here’s the topline.
- It’s indispensible for those random thoughts or photos you take to remind yourself to write about something later. Typed, handwritten, photos, voice notes – they all sync up from any computer or mobile device.
- The coolest part? Use your phone to take a photo of a street sign, a menu or anything else with text on it. Once it syncs to Evernote, even the text in the photo is searchable. Awesome stuff.
- Creawriter: haven’t used this one, yet, but if you want to write without distractions, it’s a cool concept. A free word processor that fills your desktop with your prose, along with a customizable background and soothing sounds to keep you focused .
- Dragon Dictation for the iPhone: gives you the ability to dictate a quick thought that is instantly translated to text. I’m still getting into the habit of using this one.
For blogging:
- WordPress.org: duh. The standard for bloggers wanting to grow and have flexibility (and your own ads). You need to get away from a hosted blog and self-host eventually - start early.
- Audacity: an audio editor that works wonderfully for creating podcasts and audio files. Even if you don’t want to do a regular podcast, there may be times when you want people to hear your words directly from the source. How about a man-on-the-street interview?
- Picasa: it’s not going to be your go-to for heavy duty photo editing, but it has the easiest to use albums and is great for basic edits & resizing in bulk.
To manage your mobility:
Photo credit: moorpheuss
- Dropbox/Mozy/Skydrive: you need some sort of online backup in case your computer crashes or is stolen. For more detail on your options: http://matadorgoods.com/remote-data-storage-options-for-travelers/
- Skype: make international calls for pennies
- Remember the Milk: a free task manager that updates and sends alerts via e-mail, phone, and anything else you’re near. Rumor is that they’ll soon be able to send alerts through your margarita blender.
- Mint: keep track of all your personal finances in one place without breaking your bank.
Do you have favorites I missed? Let me know what software you can’t travel without.
Excellent post! Something I find handy for organisation is a iphone app called Awesome Note. I think that there might even be a free version on itunes. I am also a big fan of gimp.
Thanks – I’ve used Gimp in the past but have leaned more toward just using Photoshop Elements (I’m way too simple to use the full version of Ps or Gimp). I know a ton of people who swear by it, so it definitely deserves a place on the list.
Never tried Awesome Note, I’ll check it out.
This is such a helpful list. I will admit that I tend to “borrow” software from torrentz so I often don’t use freeware/shareware but there are some you’ve listed, such as the online backup, that I didn’t even think about getting.
Fingers crossed I get my netbook this week and then the uploading begins!
.-= ayngelina´s last blog ..Saving for Long Term Travel =-.
Good luck! I usually do back-ups to an external drive, but when I’m traveling I’m definitely going to have an online back-up available in case something happens that I can’t recover from.
I heart google docs!
.-= Hogga´s last blog ..Travel News February 18th, 2010 =-.
Yeah, once they fully kill Google Gears and everyone moves to HTML 5, it’ll be a huge threat to Microsoft Office’s dominance.
The crappy offline mode is what keeps it from being my only option.
Thanks for the tip on Evernote – I’ll give it a shot.
.-= Keith´s last blog ..State of the Savage: February =-.
The toughest part about Evernote is turning it into a habit. I used to forget I had it all the time. Now it’s easy as pie to pull out my iPhone and take a snapshot or jot down a note to remind me of something when I get home to the computer.
Dropbox is a great online backup! 2G + – mainly use it for transferring files from office nad home, but mainy more great uses too.
Another backup tool, but this one is for wordpress, is WordPress Database Backup. This one will be a lifesaver if ever anything were to happen to all your posts. I’m interested in Evernote, currently I used a private page and the notebook tool on my blackberry.
.-= Cornelius Aesop´s last blog ..New Brew Tuesday: Estrella Damm =-.
Awesome – I’ll have to give that a try. I’ve always worried about leaving back-ups solely in the domain of my host.
I haven’t been able to get into Evernote yet, either but I think it *is* just getting into the habit. Thx for the list!
.-= Cherrye at My Bella Vita´s last blog ..Busted! Three Things You Didn’t Know About Being an Expat in Southern Italy =-.
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