Five Free Substitutes For High-Priced Software

Let’s face it, some programs are just too expensive for you to splurge on.  Sure they’d be nice to have, but do you need them?  Especially when sometimes the price is too high to justify.

Besides, you’re saving all of your money for an iPad, which you totally need.

Here are some free substitute programs for those popular, big-ticket ones:

WinZip

When you need to compress a file, but don’t want to spend $30, try PeaZip.

Microsoft Office

MS Office programs are great, but lots of people breathed sighs of relief when  OpenOffice and Google Docs came out for free.

Adobe Photoshop

Who doesn’t want a copy of Photoshop?  But if you don’t have an extra $700 burning a hole in your pocket, try GIMP.

MobileMe

I’m not sure why MobileMe is so expensive, especially after you buy pricey Apple products, but you can try Google Sync to sync your Gmail, calendar and contacts.

Adobe Acrobat

Another great Adobe program, but another exorbitant purchase.  Try PDF995.