Enterprise Nation

The ubiquitous Emma Jones pointed me in the direction of this article, which says that big companies in the UK are looking to use free software to save costs. Small companies can do so too. But with so much out there, where can you find free software that you can trust with your home business?

While ITPro reports that 76 per cent of CIOs in the UK encourage the use of free software in their firms, it raised an interesting point for home and small business owners, like us.

"Things like Flash, Java and Adobe Reader are good, trusted bits of software and come from a reliable source," Global Graphics chief executive Gary Fry commented. "Where there are dangers are with less known free providers. If you go on sites like Tucows there are applications added on a daily basis and for individual users that's fine, but companies need to be a lot more diligent."

We like to think of ourselves as a reliable source! So, here's our list of others, where you can find free software for your home business:

1. CNET Download.com

That CNET snagged one of the Internet's best domain names, makes download.com an obvious place to look for free software. But what makes it worth the trip, is its search feature.

If you're not sure what's right for you, you can filter search results by number of downloads, editors' rating and user rating, so you can see what's popular and what other people think.

• CNET Download.com

2. Butterscotch

Currently in beta, Butterscotch has partnered with monster download site, Tucows, to compliment its listing of free software with video tutorials and shows, like Miss Download.

• Butterscotch

3. Sourceforge

We're getting into the über geeky world of Open Source software now, but it's well worth visiting and Sourceforge is the best place to start.

Find out more about Open Source projects, about how you can get involved (if you're a developer) and about what's hot for your operating system.

• SourceForge.net

4. Open Source Windows/Mac

If you couldn't give two hoots about the Open Source movement and you just want something you can trust, Open Source Windows (and its sister site, Open Source Mac) is a simple list of some of the best free and open source software for your operating system.

It's an advantage really that it's not too long a list. It takes away some of the headache of trying to decide!

• Open Source Windows / Mac

5. osalt.com

Like Open Source Windows/Mac, osalt.com is organised by category, but more explicitly suggests alternatives to commercial software.

For example, you can click an item on the Top 10 Commercial list, like Photoshop, and it will list open source alternatives to that particular package.

The list is thorough and you can add to it by suggesting other alternatives.

• osalt.com

6. i use this

It's all good and well having a long list of free software, but what we really want to know is who's using it and what do they think?

i use this lets you vote for the software you use and then see the most popular, so you know - roughly - what's good in each category.

There's a Windows, Mac and iPhone version and new releases every day.

• i use this

7. PDFreaders.org

This single-serving site does what it says... in the address bar! End the tyranny of Adobe's secret ingredient and get PDF to and from your computer with this list of free software.

• PDFreaders.org

8. "Who needs to pirate software with a list like this?"

A definitive list of free software on the 121Space message board, plus discussion. It seems to have spiralled into spamming these days, but it starts well, at least.

• Who needs to pirate software with a list like this?

9. 30 Essential Pieces of Free (and Open) software for Windows

This list may be three years old, but most of the software suggested, including Firefox, OpenOffice.org, GIMPShop and PDFCreator, is still great to use.

It came about when the author, upon buying a new laptop, went through the process of removing all its pre-installed software and replacing it with Open Source alternatives. I've been there...

• 30 Essential Pieces of Free (and Open) software for Windows

10. Free Software Foundation (FSF)

The Free Software Foundation (FSF) advocates free software ideals, not just for Windows but with its own operating system, GNU.

It recognises that using free software on Windows is the first step towards "freedom." You may not be ready to dump Microsoft altogether, but in the meantime you can replace other costly software with its recommended alternatives.

• Free Software Foundation (FSF)

What do you think?

This list is by no means definitive. So, if you'd like to add to it, please do in the comments below. Or tell us how you use free software in your home business. Is freeware good enough to replace paid software?

San Sharma
Social Media Consultant and Web Designer, Author, Moonwalker, etc.

Photo credit: free 'sweet' hugs by kalandrakas