We are looking for a free program like Print Shop.
You know, the old program that would let you make cards, posters, fliers, etc…
Please Help! Thanks, Susan

Happy to help, Susan. Here’s a quick video review of PagePlus, a free alternative to Microsoft Publisher and Print Shop. These types of low-cost desktop publishing tools are great for producing quick brochures, office signs, business cards, etc. Have your own question for Your Nerdy Best Friend? Ask it now!

Click here to view the embedded video.

On the plane to a speaking gig the other day, I discovered a blurb about Soluto, a clever little program that harnesses the collective geekdom of the PC world to help you solve your computer problems.

Download the application, and it monitors your computer hiccups, hangups, crashes and glitches. It links your data with data from other users to see their irritations as well as the things they do to fix them. Then it can help you apply their solutions to your problems.

All for free. Way cool.

Soluto – Anti-Frustration Software.

Do you spend too much time at your computer, sometimes working at first light and again at midnight? The harsh glare of a computer screen may make your eyes tired and mess up your brain’s view of day and night.

F.lux is a tiny little download that helps change the glow of your computer based on the time of day. Just install the executable, put in your time zone and let F.lux do its thing. It will help your screen mimic the light in the room you’re in, thus relieving your tired eyes. My fabulous assistant, Claire, loves it.

F.lux: control your screen brightness settings automatically.

Want more ergonomic aid? Check out this tool that takes you through a 15-minute ergonomic questionnaire.

It’s about time I profile Dropbox, a great little tool my readers have mentioned several times, and it came up again when I was presenting  “Free and Low-Cost Tech Tools Your Organization Can’t Live Without” at the Fancy Food Show this week.

Dropbox allows you to synchronize your files among your computers and also stores them online for access anywhere. This is a fantastic application for those of us who travel and don’t want to deal with throwing files on thumb drives. Its storage capacity matches Mozy.com for backups and its feature set is on par with Live Mesh.

You receive two gigs of storage with the free version, and 50 is only $9.99 a month.

Dropbox – Home – Secure backup, sync and sharing made easy.

OmniDazzle is a free special effects tool for presentations. Lucky Mac users can download the software to add cool ways to highlight screens, words and points during presentations. Oh how I wish we poor PC users had a similar version! I have a presentation this week in San Francisco, and I would love to use this tool to make my favorite tools pop!

The Omni Group – OmniDazzle.

Oh, I love free stuff, and I love people who make it easier to download free stuff.

Visit the Ninite site, and check off the free applications you want on your computer, such as Firefox, Chrome, iTunes, Audacity, Skype, AVG, Adobe Reader, Gimp… The list is fantastic! (And it reminds me of all the great tools I still need to cover here on Cheapskate Freelancer.)

Once you choose your programs, click to install, and Ninite will manage your installation. This is great when you are doing a full upgrade to Windows 7.

Ninite Easy PC Setup and Multiple App Installer – Great For Win7 Upgrades.

Most of us green-types cringe when we print out a 10-page document that has giant pictures and a last page with 3 words on it. GreenPrint helps take control of your printer, allowing you to save money, ink and trees.

Download the application and it installs like a printer. Then you can print to GreenPrint and choose which pages you want to print and whether you want graphics. You can also use it to print straight to a PDF.

I love that it also includes a little meter to keep track of how many printed pages you’ve avoided and how much money you’ve saved on ink. GreenPrint World is fully functional and free, though you have to see ads for green companies. The Home Premium edition costs just $29 per computer.

GreenPrint Software – Millions of Trees Can’t be Wrong..

After a recent upgrade of Firefox, one of my favorite plugins, LeechBlock, stopped working. So I went in search of a new control system that would help me think twice before I surfed my day away.

I’m now in love with K9 Web Protection, a free internet filtering service. Sure, it’s made for parents to protect their kids, but as a professional with a bad web habit, I appreciate its ability to keep me from wasting my precious time.

You set sites that you’d like to limit, and you can eliminate entire categories of sites. I am particularly bad when it comes to reading news articles. I can read article after article and waste an hour or two… Time just slips away. With K9, you can allow access for 15 minutes or a certain period of time. That way you can pop in to check on your friends in Facebook, but soon you’re back at work.

And it’s free. I love free.

K9 Web Protection – Free Internet Filtering and Parental Controls Software.

Favicons are those tiny graphics in the tabs when you open a webpage. If you don’t have one for your site, you’ll get a little blank page graphic, and that’s no longer the cool thing to do.

Favicon.ico Generator will help you generate the tiny 16×16 pixel graphic — upload a graphic or paint your own.

Favicon.ico Generator

I’ve long been a fan of Fontifier, which lets you create a font from your own handwriting for $9.

I’m even more excited about their new feature, a signature font creator, that lets you write things like “best wishes” in full signature format (rather than printing — who prints these days?). I haven’t done it yet myself, but it’s great if you need to mass produce thank you notes or if you want to “sign” your electronic newsletters.

Fontifier – Your own handwriting on your computer

No list of free and low-cost tools is complete without mentioning Gimp. Gimp is like a free version of Adobe Photoshop, complete with the whole gamut of tools I can’t figure out how to use.

It’s downloadable and works in a whole bunch of platforms. I just read they now have a cool animation package as well. Again — all free.

GIMP – The GNU Image Manipulation Program.

Although I appreciate the coolness of Gimp, it’s really too advanced for my meager photo editing needs. Instead, I rely on Picnik.

Cheapskate Freelancer reader Julie Mazziotta turned me on to PDFCreator, a super free tool that creates PDFs and more.

• Creates PDFs from any program that prints
• Can also make graphic files from documents (PNGs, JPGs, etc)
• Here’s a great feature … Merges multiple files into one PDF!

I’m putting this under Mac and PC, but it may be just PC. Literature doesn’t give details.

PDFCreator | pdfforge.org

Have a great free tool to contribute? Send it on…

Don’t forget… June contest ends soon! Tell me your favorite tool that’s worth the price for a chance to win Amazon.com Gift Certificate.

Two Cheapskate Freelancer readers recommend MozyHome Free, which gives you 2GB of storage online at absolutely no charge.

You simply set up your account, download the software, and Mozy will backup your files when you’re online.

I’m actually a former (but pleased) Mozy.com subscriber at the $4.95/month level, where you get unlimited storage. When I bought a new computer, I switched to Norton 360 backup (and I’m really not a happy customer. I should switch back).

MozyHome Free: Free Backup Software, Online Backup, & Remote Backup.

Ever get a document that your computer doesn’t recognize and you have no idea where to look? Thanks to free tool fan and longtime buddy Jim for this cool tool.

OpenWith.org helps you identify any file extension and finds you a free program to open it. You can either search online for the right program or download the Desktop Tool (PC only).

OpenWith.Org: Free programs to open any file extension!

Two of the respondents in last month’s Giveaway mentioned RoboForm as their favorite free tool, and I agree it’s pretty darn cool.

RoboForm allows you to create an account that autofills passwords and other forms when you visit a website. It’s downloadable software (not sure if it works on PC and Mac), with a web-based edition as well.

I actually have this functionality with my Norton software, and I LOVE it. With this type of program, you’ll never have to fill out NAME, ADDRESS, CITY, STATE, etc again. RoboForm promises it keeps everything secure, and, like I said, it comes highly recommended by two regular readers of the Cheapskate Freelancer.

• Online Version
• Pro Version ($29.95 per license)
• Another cool tool: Password Scanner to see which of your passwords are unencrypted and potentially swipeable

RoboForm: Password Manager, Form Filler, Password Management.

Sigh. I guess it was bound to happen. I found a low-cost screen capture tool that competes with Jing, which is one of my all-time favorites.

FastStone Screen Capture comes in as an unobtrusive toolbar. You can capture windows, the full screen, a scrolling screen and a video with audio (see my sample below — I don’t think the audio recording is as good as Jing). In addition, when you capture something, you get a whole host of editing options to add a little more flair and details — Jing simply lets you annotate and draw arrows. And FastStone has a couple of extra handy tools like a screen magnifier plus a color picker (similar to another Beth Favorite, Pixie).

FastStone has a number of ways to export your capture, but I still prefer Jing’s integration with Screencast.com, which allows you to simply toss your capture online into your library without having to actually upload it.

Overall, I give FastStone an A- and still give Jing an A. But they’re both pretty darn cool and are infinitely better than your “Print Screen” Button.

FastStone Screen Capture – The Best Screen Capture Software.

Now this is handy! Download iSpring Free, a little PowerPoint add-in to convert your PowerPoint presentation into Flash with a push of a button. Here’s a sample with my last presentation…. Warning… as a stand-alone without audio, it’s insanely boring. But the cool thing is it became a Flash movie in about a minute.

iSpring Free | Free PowerPoint to Flash Converter.

I just downloaded FileHippo.com’s Update Checker. In minutes it gave me a list of the 6 applications on my desktop that needed updating, along with links to do so. Handy!

FileHippo.com Update Checker – FileHippo.com.

Ok, I’ll admit it… I’ve contemplated dating an IT guy just to have someone to call when my computer is ailing. But my boyfriend might take exception to that, so I’m very grateful for CrossLoop.

CrossLoop is a network of IT specialists who are standing by to help you. Seriously. All you do is create an account, search for technicians who have experience with your type of computer issue, and let them take over your screen to fix the problem. You pay their hourly rate (which varies by technician), and you can get first-rate advice without having to have dinner.

I used them once and really enjoyed the experience and the results (he couldn’t fix my problem, but that made me happy because I KNEW it was a horrible problem that was beyond repair, and it was!). Highly recommended.

CrossLoop – Simple, secure screen-sharing and trusted experts for computer help.

I discovered this site about an hour ago, and I just spent way too much time experimenting with the art generation tool to create a cool example for this post (yep, that’s it below).

Mutapic is addicting. You choose two icon pictures, press the Generate button and Mutapic morphs the two together to create icons. Kind of. Mine were mostly ugly, but I had lots of fun experimenting.

Mutapic is free to play, but if you want to save anything, you need to upgrade for $30 and download the software. Not bad if you need these things on a regular basis, and you can then use your own photos to create your art.

Mutapic.

On a business trip, have you ever had to walk around sadly with a thumb drive, hoping someone would take pity on you and print your document because you weren’t hooked up to any printers?

Xerox has solved your problem with the Mobile Express Driver. When you hook into someone else’s network, the available printers will appear. Pick a printer and print away. And the printer is saved the next time you hook into that network. Great for your quarterly trips back to company headquarters.

Xerox Mobile Express Driver: Free Universal Printer Driver.

Here’s an interesting concept. Cucku is a free data backup system that backs up data locally then sends a secure copy to a friend’s computer.

I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m very tempted to ditch my paid service and give it a whirl. You and your backup buddy need to install Skype, but the system backs up behind the scenes and doesn’t require coordination.Your buddy can’t get into your files, just in case you were worried about the photo folder marked “Personal.”

This would allow you to back up both your home and work computer on the other machines, store a copy of your files offsite and rest assured that you’ve got a copy of your files with a trusted friend.

How clever! I’m intrigued. They’re coming out with a Cucku Backup Pro, and you can upgrade for a fee, but they promise the original will always be free.

Free Remote/Online Backup – Cucku: Social Backup.

Some printable paper rulers.

A Twitter friend (dloo) just turned me on to LeechBlock, a simple Firefox add-on that helps you block sites that suck your productivity.

I just set it so I limit my Twitter time to 5 minutes every two hours during the workday.

LeechBlock :: Firefox Add-ons.

Sounds like: KeepMeOut

You can keep it running all the time or simply call upon it when you need it. The default is that it sits on top of your other programs all the time. I find this annoying, so I turn it on and off. But it’ll show the codes for the color of a pixel so you can replicate a color scheme.

One of my favorites.

Nattyware / Pixie.