Andrea Barnes

My life revolves around my computer. I have accepted this fact and dealt with it. However, as a result of this strange gravitational pull I have towards keyboard and screen, I often find myself trying to enhance my little black laptop with screensavers, games, and sounds. It’s for my computer’s benefit, not mine, I swear! I’m making it better!

Freewarehome.com has provided a one-stop outlet for my addiction. It sorts downloads into convenient categories along the left side of the website?categories including business, desktop, education, games, and programming. And within each category are subcategories, further increasing ease in finding the software that is right for you and your computer. Once you’ve decided if you want a screensaver, a puzzle game, or just something fun, you simply look through what they’ve got for you. Each program has a short description, size, and visitor rating. The best part about all these programs is that they’re all free. Surprisingly enough, that’s what “freeware” means.

A number of programs out there are “shareware,” which sounds like “free” but actually means that you get a demo and must then delete the program or start paying for it after the specified time. That’s just not fun for the average college student. It’s bad enough we’re downloading software that is taking us away from our homework and classes, but having to pay for said software, as well?

My favorite category so far is in the Desktop: Fun stuff. You can find all sorts of weird stuff there. A lot of the programs are “stress relievers” in which you can “torch” the desktop or “throw” rocks through windows. One of these I find amusing is the Starfish Program. It’s just a starfish that follows your mouse cursor, as though it were curious of it. Press the spacebar, and the starfish becomes afraid of the mouse and runs away from it. I could go on to describe the wacky things you can have running around on your desktop, but the starfish are really starting to panic.

Most of the programs are available at www.freewarehome.com.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to make my computer the baddest machine in Brown Hall.

4 stars