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Free online software tools to make life easier

Untangle Yourself From The Daily Grind. by SoftwareGuru 27th May 2009 Value for money is one of the pillars upon which Software4Students stands. "Get more for less" has been our mantra and official software offers such as Microsoft Office, Kaspersky, Adobe Photoshop and Sibelius have been tremendously successful. As the internet evolves, more free online software tools are becoming popular that can work well side-by-side more comprehensive (and ad free!) standalone software packages. We believe it is our duty to our customers to not only bring you the best student software bargains you'll find in Ireland but to also keep you up to date with the latest tips and advice on what online tools can make your life easier! Regular readers will no doubt be aware of the free online storage and Microsoft Office extensions that OfficeLive.com has to offer, so let's take a look at the best of the rest.
	Stress Busters NetVibes - this online desktop allows you to pull together all the different aspects of your work or online social life in one place. A huge variety of widgets, tools and feeds make this an invaluable tool and resource. TweetDeck - if you're on the move a lot it makes sense to txt Facebook updates or tweets via your mobile phone. Then when you're at a computer you can utilise TweetDeck to track various conversations, @replies, trends and a whole lot more. This is one of the most popular services on the web right now. Remember The Milk - think of this site as your own virtual personal assistant. Despite the questionable name this service is a great alternative to NetVibes and arguably more useful for anyone who's out and about a lot such as working mothers! Twitter Backgrounds - copying the MySpace layout trend, making your own online twitter profile a bit more personal has led to an increase in sites offering help in this area. As always, we recommend you take your privacy seriously and be careful as to what contact details you allow into the public domain. Shorten URLs - currently a target for phishing scams, these sites are nevertheless extremely useful although I expect both Google and Microsoft to offer an official URL shortening service sooner rather than later. Try to use the most reliable company you can find for this type of free online service. This link will get you started. Free Photos, Images & Sounds - If you need to bring your documents to life you can find fantastic looking photos and more in the Clip Art section of Microsoft.com. You can also publish and share your own photos too.
A Service Worth Paying For? There is no doubt that ad-supported 'free' online business models do not always work. While open source projects continue to do great work and make innovative advances, the fact remains that ad-free standalone software has its advantages. Just as the transition to digital television and the switching off of analogue is proving to take a lot longer than expected, so to is it likely that offline standalone software will stay around for quite some time yet. Genuine privacy is going to become a new battleground as we depart the web 2.0 era, one in which all or at least most of our data is stored online, while our actions are much more easily monitored and governed. Free software tools will often make our lives much easier. The challenge that lies ahead is to find the right balance between the offline and the online. The data which we create, edit and store online still often lacks the encryption required to keep it fully secure. The morale of the story is, if you would like a better service online don't be surprised if you need to pay for it in the near future. Most online businesses can't sustain the gigantic losses that the likes of YouTube endure. And don't forget...we'll always help you get more for less.

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