* Recommended Reading
* Recommended Freeware
* Recommended Products
* Recommended Services/Companies
We all like free stuff. Free software can be terrific - but some of it is kind of "junky." :( Here are some of my favorite, tried-and-true free programs. (Sorry, Mac owners. I haven't tried any Mac freeware, because I don't have a Mac!)
Desktop Publishing, etc.
-PagePlus (desktop publishing), PhotoPlus (image editing), and DrawPlus (drawing program) are all available from Serif. These are terrific, high-quality programs. (They are, essentially, the older versions of programs Serif is currently selling.)-CutePDF is a pdf printer. After downloading and installing this, you will be able to print to pdf from nearly any program. Just select "CutePDF" as the printer.
Tools
-Firefox is a web browser. You can use it to open websites in new windows or in new tabs, and it's very easy to work with.-The Google Toolbar is a terrific tool, too. Now that I have Firefox (which has a built-in searchbox at the top with Google as an option), I don't have quite as great a need for it, but it's still terrific. It lets you do "specialty" Google searches (like image searches) right from whatever page you're on. It also has other handy features, such as letting you highlight your search terms in the current page (helpful when the page is really, really long and you're having trouble locating the relevant portion).
For Kids
-TuxPaint is an easy-to-use paint program. My 4-year-old loves this! The buttons are large, you can set it up so that any mouse button will work, and there are lots of fun special effects. (Even Mama enjoys playing with this one.) It is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac.For Webmasters - site construction
-1st Page is an HTML editor. It runs in four different modes, ranging from "Easy" to "Hardcore." I like it because I hand-code and this is an easy program for doing that. (It's not a drag-and-drop program.) There IS a (nonessential) file in this program that contains a virus or something. I have always just run my virus program or manually remove this file after installation and before running the program, and have never had a problem.-WebPlus, from Serif software, is drag-and-drop page creation software.
-Search and Replace. I love this one! When I decide to update something on several of my pages, this handy tool will search for the old text/code in ALL of the files, and replace it with the new text. Quite a timesaver!
For Webmasters - graphics
-Pixie -OR- BK Colour Coder will help you find the proper hexadecimal code for a given color. Pixie is a much smaller, less intrusive program. For that reason, it's the one I most frequently use. When you are running Pixie, you can place your mouse over the color you want and it will show you the code for that color (in RGB and several others as well as hex code). The Colour Coder, however, has additional features. It will allow you to type in a color in one coding system and generate the others. (For instance, if you know the hex code, you can can type that in and find the RGB code to use in your graphics program.) It will also give you a preview of a given color scheme, including background color and all appropriate link colors.-Buttonz and Tilez downloads and installs as one package, but is actually two separate programs. Buttonz creates buttons. It comes with a variety of button shapes and you can change the size, color, and font. It will even process batches of matching buttons with different text. Tilez creates seamless background tiles. It isn't a very flexible program, but you might have fun playing around with the tiles it generates. (It does not, as far as I know, take your images and adjust them to make them seamless.) Personally, I found Buttonz to be very helpful and Tilez to not be especially helpful.