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For a parent dealing with the costs of the first year of college, these are the best, and essential, free software downloads for college students. All for personal use.

They are important and necessary. Yes, after books, after room and board, after food and allowance, the last thing on a your mind is the cost of software to get your child through their first year (or their last year) of college.

The money was spent on a new laptop. Now you need to fill it up and keep your college student equipped with software necessary for their college survival!

What do they need? Productivity, communication, protection and fun! From word processors to virus protection, do not let your student on campus without being equipped with the following FREE software downloads.

*PRODUCTIVITY*
-OpenOffice.org
http://www.openoffice.org/
-Adobe PDF Reader
http://get.adobe.com/reader/
-Mozilla FireFox
http://www.mozilla.org/

*COMMUNICATION*
Skype
http://www.skype.com/

*PROTECTION*
Avast (For home and non-commercial use only)
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast _4_home.html

*FUN*
Photoscape
http://www.photoscape.org/

OpenOffice.org (Productivity)
Here is a question: Would you rather spend $150 or $0.00? I'll choose $0.00. The student version of MS Office, which includes the essentials: word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation software, costs $150. OpenOffice.org, which includes all that and more, is free! It is the leading open-source office software suite available online. The most important feature for the student is the word processor. Your student can open MS Word documents and save their own documents as Word documents if they need to work on the MS Word platform at any time. Parents, who feel their student needs the MS Office Suite, need to look at this suite as the best alternative to MS Office.

In fact, this article is being written on OpenOffice.org's Text Editor.

Adobe PDF Reader (Productivity)
Files emailed from professors, study aides, sample tests, downloaded documents, etc. will often times be in a file called PDF (Portable Data File). This file format enables users to see/read a document and have it viewed and printed exactly the same as the original . PDFs are used in legal documents, print ads, and other forms. In fact, your student may have to print his/her test online from a PDF file! This may be standard on your student's computer, but before hugging them goodbye, make sure its on their computer!

Mozilla FireFox (Productivity)
The standard browser on your student's computer will either be Safari (Mac) or Internet Explorer (Windows based computer). Mozilla FireFox is noticeably faster than other web browsers and it runs on both a windows operating system as well as a Mac. This makes life so much easier if a student is jumping around from computer to computer. They will feel comfortable with the look, feel, and overall performance of a single web browser. Download it onto all your computers. And yes, it is free.

Skype (Communication)
You don't need to use up all those minutes on your cellular plan that first week of school. Talk for free using Skype. Its much like AOL's Instant Messenger but extremely versatile - especially if you are calling overseas. If you both have webcams you can 'chat' face to face so-to-speak. If not, your voice or simple instant messaging can be used with Skype. This is a must have in order for you to stay in touch with your student!

Avast (Protection)
Some Virus software packages can run between $30-$150. Avast is the best free anti-virus protection on the market. It is free if you use it for home or non-commercial use (just register your download for continued use after the trial). Your student will be transferring files from class to class and the next thing you know, their computer will be in jeopardy. They will be connecting their laptop online at the library, in class, in the dorm room, or at the local coffee shop ,and they are open to viruses and other forms of computer attacks. Avast will give you, and your student's computer, a sense of security.

Photoscape (Fun)
You bought your student a computer, and to document college life, you dished out money for a digital camera. Photoscape is a photo editing software with a ton of features. For those more advanced point and shooters, there is a RAW converter to convert images into jpeg format. Your student can create animated gifs, do batch editing, and accomplish several typical photo editing with Photoscape's photo editing tools. Unfortunately, it is only available for Windows based computers. For Mac users try Gimp and need X11 with Windows Protocol (http://www.gimp.org).

These are six essential downloads for that new College student. All for free.

But don't let that stop you - the parent. These downloads are perfect for you and your family and you don't have to spend a dime.

Learn more about this author, Glenn Magas.
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