HeadQuarters

The internet is a great source of information, software, movies, music, culture, news, blogs and just about everything that doesn't need to be tied down. 
It is also a great source of free things, without having to resort to piracy or downloading dodgy material. I thought I'd list some sites that offer great free knowledge and information.


Aside from entertainment (watching Youtube, reading blogs and news) there is a lot of free stuff you can use and re-use such as Software (graphic tools, antivirus software, etc..), Images, photos, documents, ideas.  Some of these things have licenses that permit or restrict the way they can be  used. For example we use Joomla for content management websites, it's free (under the GPL), but we have to leave a link and reference to the system and developers.

Be sure to check the license on any material you are using, some things will be free for personal use, you can't claim it as being your own, scratch your logo on it or sell it to someone else, it's free. Respect that and you'll be fine. Breach someones copyright or terms of their license whether it is creative commons, GPL or just someones Terms and Conditions and there may be hell to pay. That said, lets get into the free stuff!

Video:- you just find what you like and push play, but to get you started. Try out www.metatube.com it'll search over 100 online video sites for your entertainment!

Games:- When my mind is melting I personally head off to www.towerdefence.net and play the latest addictive tower game, but you might get some more joy with www.freeonlinegames.com (for flash games)

Documents:- Check out www.docstoc.com, a great resource of business documents, templates, forms and everything the office admin in you desires. 

Graphics:- www.dreamstime.com simply sign up and get access to free or next to free images (royalty free) for your own marketing pleasure. There are lots of High-resolution images just waiting for you.

Software:-  There is so much software available for free it's hard to know where to start.  There is free professional software for home use, such as Avast or there is opensource software and freeware.  Www.sourceforge.net is a great resource for finding applications that you may need / enjoy / want / love. 

More:-  www.thefreesite.com will keep you looking for hours.  Don't be shy, it's free!

That is really just a small sample. I'm going to spend the next few articles looking at free software and letting you know what it is and how it may benefit you at home.  Generally speaking if you're a business you should have licensed software. So unless you've read and understood the license don't try this at work.

Tags: Stuff | Google | Tips | Free