Everyone likes free stuff! Especially USEFUL free stuff. Here I will countdown my favorite freeware (not necessarily open source).

Number 5: Picasa. This is a free photo managing tool from Google. I love its intuitive interface and great searching capabilities. It has all the editing tools a basic user needs. You can get it here.

Number 4: The GIMP. On the subject of photos you can use this for photo editing. This can do all the expensive Adobe Photoshop and it’s free (well of course, this is a freeware list!). GIMPshop is a distribution of this open source software. For vector drawing I suggest Inkscape. Get the GIMP here. GIMPshop here. and Inkscape here.

Number 3: Firefox. I bet most of you know this, but if you don’t it’s a tabbed web browser. It is the most popular web browser after Internet Explorer (because IE is installed on every Windows PC). I really like that it has real time spell checking. Get it here.

Number 2: OpenOffice. This is a quick and simple solution to Microsoft Office, plus it can even open Office documents. It has all of the features of Office (except the new 2007 ribbon) too! You can get his here.

Number 1: Linux!! The penguin rules all freeware. This is a free operating system; it is similar to both Windows and Macs and runs fine. You might have a hard time picking a distibution so I’ll help you. Ubuntu is a good live-cd version, this means that you can run Linux without installing anything on your hard drive (get it here). OpenSUSE is a good version for hard drive installation (get it here).

Seeing that there are so many free software, I guess you could run eveything off of free stuff. First get an OS (Linux), Productivity Software (OpenOffice), some free online games, Photo Manager (Picasa), the only thing that costs money is the PC (unless someone gave it to you or you found it at the dump). I hope this guide was useful, I would like to thank Cnet for giving me the ideas and the makers of these software for making great free stuff!!!

This Podcast is written by my friend, I hope you enjoy it and learn a few things.

At number 10 this is actually a warning to all people out there. Formatting is a hugely misunderstood word. While it sounds like adding or changing something on the computer it actually means to erase your computer, your iPod, your video game memory card, or your flash drive. So if you see this screen “Formatting now” click cancel soon.

Coming in at 9 are a couple of file formats. AAC,MP3, and WMA are all music files on your computer. You get AAC from itunes, WMA from windows media player, and MP3 from, well, pretty much everything else.

Number 8, MEDIA. Although media can be used as a synonym for press on the computer it means content. Your music, photos, videos, podcasts, newspapers, magazines, and newsletters are all media.

At number 7 is firmware. Firmware is kind of a tricky one. Its actually like an operating system but that’s later in the show. Firmware is what your iPod or Mp3 players menus and features are. It’s the menus, not the actual device.

Coming into sixth, Skype. This is kind of like IMing but instead of just typing to each other you actually talk through your computers microphone. It’s kind of like a phone on the internet, but, it’s free to call! Even long distance.

Number 5 is external storage. While when you save onto “my documents” it’s saved on the computer external storage is a device outside your computer that can hold data. Flash drives are a perfect example.

Speaking of which that drives us into our next term. Number four is USB. Flash drives are mearly external storage devices the PLUG INTO THE USB PORT. Many other things plug into USBs like mice, keyboards, game controllers, and cables that you use to sync your iPod or MP3 player. USB also stands for Universal Serial Bus.

At number 3, O.S.s or operating systems. An operating system is the main controller of your computer. Without an operating system your computer is useless. Common operating systems are windows and mac.

Coming into 2. The personal computer. All a pc means is a computer that has windows running. All our schools computers and probably most of your home computers are pcs.

Now, finally, the number one technological term you should know… an MP3 player. The definition of an MP3 player is a device that can play MP3 file formats. And yes, the iPod is an MP3 player.

Okay, now that CES is over I’m going to give an overview of my favorite devices.

The HP Touchsmart PC IQ1770 is my favorite computer of CES. It’s similar to Apple iMac (in that it is an all in one) but with a touchscreen monitor. It will be released at the same time as Windows Vista and will cost $1,779. It has a touch activated addition called SmartCenter. It has a calendar, a photo editing application, and a basic weather feed. Included with the calendar is a Post-it(r) styled note application to leave notes (or voice notes) for other members of your family.Otherwise, the TouchSmart PC works very much like a typical modern PC. It includes all of the amenities of a system in its price range, including a slot-loading, LightScribe-capable DVD burner (standard definition), an 8-in-1 media card reader, integrated 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, a TV tuner, a Webcam and a microphone on the top edge of the LCD, as well as the usual assortment of video and audio connections.

In MP3s is the Sansa Connect. It has the long awatied feature of wireless downloading and internet radio (Hmm, I guess Starbuck’s wi-fi can come in handy sometimes).The player comes with 4GB of flash memory and offers an SD card slot to add more. The body is sleek and compact, measuring in at 2.05×3.58×0.63 inches, and the bright color screen is ample at 2.2 inches (diagonal). The Connect is due in March and will sport a $249.99 price tag.

In Home Theater is the the LG BH100 and the Phillps Soundbar. The LG BH100 is the previously impossible player. It is the ONE that can play HD-DVD and Blu-ray. The player can deliver up to 1080p output resolution at 24 and 30 frames per second via HDMI, but future-conscious buyers might lament that the HDMI version is just 1.2, not 1.3. The LG also has Blu-ray Java compatibility. All of the standard A/V outputs are present, including 5.1-channel analog audio outputs. Of cource it will still be able to play our traditional DVDs and CDs.

The Phillps Soundbar HTS8100 is a 1.1 virtual surround speaker (one speaker and a subwoofer). But what is different is that it has a built in DVD player (sorry no blu-ray or HD-DVD). It is about 5 inches thick and uses Phillips Ambisound technology. The price tag might scare you though at 1,000 dollars. There is an alternative: the Phillips HTS6600 which is a 2.1 virtual surround and will cost $599. Both will be availible in the second quarter on 2007.

I’ll continue on later, so check back often!

Well, I’m back! I hope all of you had a great new year. As many of you know CES passed (or almost will) and has shown us many of great gadgets for the comyear. Although I usually don’t like Apple products I actually like the the iPhone, it has almost everything I want. Such as Wi-fi, a touch screen, nice interface, Cingular (all of the other good phones are on a different carrier) and of course a sleek design! One thing that I hate about it is that it costs $500 dollars for the 4 GB model and $600 for the 8GB. It will come out in June but only through Cingular and Apple. I’ll post more stuff about the iPhone but for now if you want it get it here (it’s a paper version): http://www.sneakmove.com/2007/01/diy-cut-and-fold-paper-iphone.html.