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OpenOffice is a free, legal alternative to Microsoft Office. It runs great, has an awesome interface, and you can create documents with it that can be opened by Microsoft’s suite.

If you need to find an image, you can try Google Image Search. Google Image Search is a search service created by Google which allows you to search the web for images. It finds almost every image on the web.

When you’re typing on a laptop, chances are your thumbs have touched the touchpad by a mistake, and you’ve had to make corrections to your document. Isn’t that annoying? Well there’s an easy way to disable the touchpad on your laptop. Hold the function key (Fn) down, and hit the function button up top that is represented by a pointing hand. Certain brands, like HP, will have a button right above the touchpad that can be pressed to disable the touchpad.

The biggest cause of computer slowdown is 3rd party software running in the background while you are working. To stop this software from running, hit the Windows key, and type msconfig. Once the utility comes up, go to the Startup tab, click Disable All, Apply, and restart your computer. Your computer will be faster after the reboot.

Is UAC annoying the crap out of you in Windows Vista? You can easily turn it off. Hit the Windows key, type User Accounts, and hit enter. Once there, click the bottom option that says “Turn User Account Control on or off”. Un-check the box, hit ok, and restart your computer. Presto!

The more you use your computer, the more you will realize the need to convert files. I don’t know of a better program to convert files than the Xilisoft Video Converter. It not only converts video files, it converts audio files, and files for playback on specific devices like the iPhone, BlackBerry, Playstation 3, and Xbox 360. What I like most about the program is that it uses all the cores in your PC’s processor to convert, so the better your processor, the faster it converts. Download the trial version from the link I’ve provided.

Netbooks are extremely portable laptop computers that are simple and affordable. They come preloaded with Windows XP, and because of their size, they do not have disk drives. The average price for a Netbook is $300.

If you’re like me, you hate screensavers. I don’t need to see weird designs or pictures on the screen, and chances are I’m not at the computer to see it anyway. If you own an LCD monitor, you can disable your screensaver in Windows. Screensavers were designed to protect your CRT monitor form burn-in, but LCDs don’t suffer from burn-in.

I wanted a simple video camera capable of recording in HD, so I bought the Flip Video MinoHD. It records in 720p, and has 60 minutes of recording time thanks to the 4GB of internal memory. To transfer the video to your PC, all you do is plug the camera into a USB port, and drag the video file onto your desktop.

Fraps is a program that lets you record your PC games in high definition, and also record your desktop. Up top is a demonstration of a Fraps recording I did. The full program is $37.