Programs
From the book
These are the programs that I recommend you get on your computer. Some of you may already have some of the tools listed. For example you may already have Microsoft Office on your computer. If that is the case then there is no need to get Open Office. If you do not have a good word processing program, or are looking for something different then Open Office is the best for your money…IT IS FREE!. Here is the list, hope you find them helpful.
Open Office
Open Office is a simple writing program that is very similar to Microsoft Office. There is one glaring difference though. It is free! Yes that is right. It is so similar to Microsoft Office that you do not need to learn how to use it. It has a Word program called Writer. It has a spreadsheet like Excel called Calc. It has a database like Access called Base. And it has a presentation program like PowerPoint called Impress.
To get it simply go to http://www.openoffice.org and download it. Again it is free! If you have Microsoft Office then great. If not then get Open Office, don’t delay.
FileZilla
First of all let’s go over what FTP is. FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. It is a system that lets you transfer files over the Internet. It is a very simple program and was really the beginning of the Internet. You will use it just like you use your computer. With FileZilla you can simply drag and drop files and folders as easily as you can using My Computer.
So why do I recommend FileZilla? Again it is free! It is free, it is easy to use, it is an extension of your computer, and it is very useful for your site.
To get FileZilla simply go to http://filezilla-project.org/. You will want to click the Download FileZilla Client button. Looks like this:
Simply follow the directions and you will soon have the installation file on your computer.
Set-up is very simple. All you have to do is click on the installation file. At the time of this book it was named FileZilla_3.1.5_win32-setup.exe for Windows. Follow the on screen directions and you will soon be able to log on to your computer.
Gimp
Gimp (http://www.gimp.org) is a free graphics editing and creation program similar to Photoshop (http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/family/). It can do all the basic things that Photoshop can do, it can do a little less than what the full Photoshop can do and a little more than Photoshop Elements. Either way Gimp is far better for one reason. It is FREE! Yes that is right I have got another freebee for you. Gimp may not be the easiest to learn but when you do you will find that it is a very powerful tool that you can use to edit digital photos, and even create catchy headers. You will like it.
Simply go to http://www.gimp.org/ to download the program. Then click on the download button and you will be on your way. Follow the directions and you will have the program on your computer in no time.
The Set-up should be easy and done for you during the installation stages. One of the things that I will caution you about is to make sure that you save your images as either .jpg, .png, or .gif. Do a quick search on Google on what is the best way to save your images and you will see many tutorials on which way is the best way to save your images.
The best way to learn how the basics work for Gimp is to go to their own website tutorial page at http://www.gimp.org/tutorials/.
Firefox
What is Firefox and why do I recommend it? First of all it is free! You have nothing to lose. Firefox is an Internet Browser created and distributed by Mozzila (http://www.mozzila.com) . Mozzila has set up a great site with a lot of information on what they do and the products that they produce. Firefox is a program that decodes all the programming into something that you can see and understand. It is very similar to Microsoft’s Explorer program but about 100 times better. For a comparison you can go here and see what they have to say about it:
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/#feature-vsie.
There are also Widgets that you can install for Firefox, similar to those that we will install for WordPress . Widget is a small program that runs within another program. At the end of this section I will give you a few to download and install to make your browsing more enjoyable and more productive.
Downloading and Installing
With whatever Internet Browser you are using now go to http://www.firefox.com, you will be redirected to this site http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/ but don’t worry, you are in the right spot. Click on the box that says free download and follow the directions. It is really quite simple.
Once you have it installed start using it. Getting familiar with it is very easy and you will soon find that it is simply more of a pleasure to use.
