Useful Programs:
All Programs listed below are FREE.
Document Viewers:
Adobe
.pdf reader. Allows you to view .pdf files.
Cute
.pdf: A program that will allow you to create .pdf files without purchasing
adobe acrobat.
Primo PDF:
Another free .pdf utility.
Office Suites:
Open Office.
A completely free office suite. Similar to Microsoft Office, in some ways
better.
Zoho: Like Open
Office, but done on-line (you don't have to download a big program). Experiment
for a bit to get some fluency before using Zoho.
Google
Documents, Spreadsheets and Presentations: The Google version of an
on-line office suite.
Tumbstacks:
An On-line Presentation Tool
Gliffy: On-Line
Diagram Creator
Create-a-Graph:
On-line Graph Creator
Web-Page Creation Utilities:
iGoogle:
Make a customized Google Homepage.
Pageflakes:
Make a page and fill it with all sorts of "flakes."
Protopage:
Another spin on the "make your own page" theme.
Media Players and Audio Utilities:
Songbird:
A very robust, open-source media player. Works with mostly everything.
Use this and wonder why people still use iTunes.
iTunes:
The most widely installed program ever created by the Apple corporation.
Very functional and intuitive, but lacking some of the nice features of
other audio players.
Audacity:
A free audio editing program. You could record, mix, master and produce
an album using only this program and some instruments.
Web Browsers and E-mail Clients:
Firefox
Web Browser. A web browser. An alternative to Internet Explorer without
the gaping security holes.
Thunderbird
E-mail Client. An e-mail client, like outlook express.
File Conversion Utilities:
Zamzar: Online
Conversion tool
Neevia:
Online Conversion tool
Linux Distributions:
Ubuntu: Why
pay a few hundred dollars for Windows Vista? Ubuntu is a version (or "Distribution"
as they are called) of Linux, a free operating system. Ubuntu is widely
held to be the easiest Linux distribution to use (especially for people
who grew up using windows). ONLY SUGGESTED FOR THOSE WHO CONSIDER THEMSELVES
TO BE PARTICULARLY TECHNOLOGICALLY LITERATE. Of course you wouldn't
be able to use this link to install it if you weren't.
Miscellaneous Web Applications:
Google
Calendar: An on-line calendar application to manage the important events
of your life.
LoCalendar:
Another on-line calendar application.
Bravenet:
Another free on-line calendar application.
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Web References:
Strategies
for Success: A Page with Reading Strategies (Basis for an in-class
handout).
Son of Citation
Machine: Your one stop site for properly formatted, MLA or APA citations.
The Wikimedia
Foundation: Links to Wikipedia and associated reference sites.
Dictionary.com:
Should be self-explanatory.
Archive.org:
The Internet Archive. LOTS of neat stuff.
The Artchive:
An archive of artwork. Get it?
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Interesting Websites:
Places to Go, Things to Do:
The Acadia
Institue of Oceanography: Offers neat summer programs in one of the
most beautiful areas of the country.
Miscellany:
Pandora:
Type in a band, or a song and Pandora will magically generate an on-line
radio station of songs by the band AND by other bands that you might dig,
since you like the band you typed in. Same deal for songs. How does it
do it? Magical elves.
Lifehacker:
I promise you will learn something useful from going to this site. Check
it out.
The
Baby Name Voyager: Eloquently demonstrates trends in naming babies
over the past 100+ years. See how special you really are.
Special thanks to Mr.
Knuffke's website for these great links.