P e t e r C o l l i n s o n .com
... information technology solutions for every size of business
Here you may find some bits'n'bobs that may make your computing life a lot easier
Why pay for what you don't need...
Microsoft and other large software houses have schemes effectively 'renting' the business software you need, per employee. A fixed operating* cost {*+tax benefit} that will keep pace with your organisations progress.
Alternatively, if you have always wanted some of the big 'boys toys', but could never justify the cost... why not see if the same software is available as a 'Cloud' service. This is the same software being run for, and rented to, you. Without the worry of the upkeep costs.
For example, ever wanted Exchange Email, coupled with a collaborative secure SharePoint site to coordinate your ever increasing mobile sales force... Microsoft will give it to you, configured, with out the hardware cost, for a per user fee!
Even better if you already have an Exchange Email server this service can become an extension of it!
... you can even have it for FREE!
If you can't afford to buy or rent the software you need, get it for free! I am not suggesting you steal it, but there is a lot of good software out there that is free to use under a GNU General Public License.
Operating systems: Linux distributions are many and varied. A good all rounder is Umbuntu which will come with lots of free tools to start with. Open Solaris is another noteworthy operating system.
Applications: You can't mention free software without including Open Office, this gives you a similar suite of tools as Microsoft Office. For budding designers; GIMP is very much like Abobe Photoshop.
To get the mother load of free stuff installed in one, go to Ninite, it is the simplest way to load up with free software for both PC and Linux operating systems
For more free stuff try Wikipedia's Free Software Portal
Make Office 2007, or 2010, look like 2003...
Users migrating to the newer versions of office have noticed the new 'Ribbon' where the buttons used to be. This has left lots playing 'hunt the button'. To help these people out in the short term UBitMenu is available; it recreates your 2003 buttons for you to use again!
At the time of writing the charge was minimal (and free for private users)