Free Software Guide
This guide is provided by the AIANNHP to offer students options for
software meeting the needs of an academic setting. These
recommendations are made for the cost-conscious student and Stanford
will not provide technical support except for site-licensed software.
Stanford Site-Licensed software for Macs and PCs
You can download and use Stanford Site-Licensed software for your
computers as long as you are a registered student. Essential
Stanford Software: http://ess.stanford.edu
Available software for PCs running Windows includes Symantec AntiVirus, Spy Sweeper,
BigFix, Eudora (an e-mail client that is NOT as prone to viruses and
worms like Outlook or Outlook Express), and PC-Leland (a secure
authentication program).
Available software for Macs includes Norton AntiVirus, Eudora (an
alternative to Apple's Mail program), and MacLeland (a secure authentication program).
FREE SOFTWARE for Macs and PCs
The following software are free to download and use. They are
full-featured and easy to use. These are offered as alternatives
for those who do not want to buy or cannot afford expensive software.
OpenOffice.org (Paper Writing)
Free open-source suite of software like Microsoft Office. You can read and save to Microsoft Word formats. http://www.openoffice.org
On a Mac, you will need to have X11 before you install. You can tell if you already have it
by checking your Applications folder, and checking inside the Utilities
folder. If you have X11 in that folder, you are ready for
OpenOffice. Else, you can download it from http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/x11/download [*** gets the job done]
Firefox or Mozilla (Web Browsing)
Web browsers. Firefox (recommended) is lean and mean while
Mozilla has a built-in web editor and e-mail reader. Features
include built-in pop-up blocking, tabbed browsing, and fewer
virus/worm/spyware exploits than Internet Explorer.
http://www.mozilla.org [***** excellent]
JEdit (Text Editing)
JAVA-based text editor for programming or for web-editing. Features
include syntax highlighting and unlimited undo/redo. http://www.jedit.org [**** excellent]
GIMP (Image Editor)
The name stands for "GNU Image-Manipulating Program." Free
open-source image editor. Like Photoshop, but free. http://www.gimp.org [*** gets the job done]
Other Software, PC or Mac-only
Adium X (Instant Message Client) Mac-only
Adium X is a free IM client for the Mac. You can add all your contacts
from AIM, Yahoo!, MSN, ICQ, and iChat. The interface is customizable.
Much nicer than having all those applications up and running at once.
http://www.adiumx.com [*****
Excellent]
TextWrangler (Text Editor) Mac-only
TextWrangler is another free text editor for the Mac. It's fast and has
syntax highlighting. This is the free version of the venerable editor BBEdit.
http://www.barebones.com [*****]
Bookstore Prices for some academic programs as of 2004-05 academic year:
MS Office 2004 Mac 149.99
MS Office 2003 PC 149.99
Photoshop CS Mac/PC 299.99 (upgrade 169.99)
Photoshop Elements 49.99
Norton AntiVirus Mac 55.99
Norton AntiVirus PC 35.99