And that's where shareware came from. There were lots of young (and some not-so-young) go-getters out there, looking to make a buck. For instance, McAfee, the anti-virus stalwart, started out as shareware. We're talking the Wild West and raw pioneers!

Things are very different today. If anything, computers arrive with a lot of software that we don't want. Nonetheless, there still are ambitious, independent programmers with good ideas.

This week, I want to discuss shareware programs that I really like. Some of the links to these programmers' sites are too long for a newspaper column. To make things easy, I've rounded them up at my site. You'll find links to these programs at www.komando.com/bestshareware.asp.

Belarc Advisor: This little gem will tell you exactly what you've got on your computer. It takes seconds to run and produces a window of easy-to-read information. Belarc displays information on hardware and software. Cost: Free for personal use.

Apple System Profiler: If you have a Mac, check out this Apple utility. Like Belarc, it will give you a thorough breakdown of your equipment. This type of information is very handy when you call for help. Cost: Free.

ZoneAlarm: This is my favorite firewall. Made by Zone Labs, it will render your computer invisible to hackers' probes. Hackers run scanning programs over the Internet, looking for computers with electronic openings, called ports. A good firewall such as ZoneAlarm makes your computer invisible to the scanners.

The goal of these intruders is to place a Trojan horse on your computer. The rogue program uses the open port previously identified by a scanner. However, ZoneAlarm blocks those transmissions. They can only go through if you agree. Always say no, unless you recognize the program. Cost: Free for personal use.

Ad-aware: This program finds spyware, also known as adware. These are little programs that advertising companies place on our computers. They report back on our browsing habits. Run Ad-aware weekly, and get this garbage off your hard drive. Cost: Free.

PowerToys: This is a collection of little applications that make Windows run better. They were written by Microsoft programmers, although the company does not officially support them. In fact, Microsoft warns that it can't take responsibility for them. Don't let that throw you off. I've used them for years. They work well. Cost: Free

WinWhatWhere Investigator: Do you need to know what someone is doing on a computer? Perhaps you need to know how much time they spend surfing. This program can collect window titles, URLs, keystrokes, date, time and more. You get the information in a report. Furthermore, you can exclude any program, day or time. Cost: $99.

SpyCop: If you're on the receiving end of a snooping program, wouldn't you want to know? SpyCop can ferret out hidden spy programs. The full version will give you automatic updates to the program's database. Cost: $49.95.

EPrompter: This program will retrieve messages from up to 16 e-mail accounts, allowing you to manage everything from one program. You can use it to forward or reply to messages from the original address that received the e-mail. Cost: Free.

MacWasher: This program will clean your browser's cache, cookies, history, recent document list and more. You can automatically erase your tracks each time you surf. It works with Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Netscape and America Online. Cost: $29.95.

Image Resizer: Take a whole batch of pictures and resize them. Convert them to JPGs, GIFs or BMPs. Cost: Free.

Yeah, Write: Need a good word processor? Yeah, Write will fill the bill. This application is loaded with features, but remains small and fast. The download is less than 1 megabyte. Cost: Free for limited version. Full version is $29.

PopNot: There are a number of programs that promise to block pop-up ads. PopNot is unusual — it works! In my tests, only one pop-up got through. That's pretty darn good! The program offers an alert when it blocks an ad. And if there's a pop-up you want, it can be configured to allow it. Cost: $19.95.

To help you in this course, here is a brief listing of free or relatively inexpensive computer programs.

A list of campus microlabs is available, along with information about their hours and number of computers.

You can purchase software at steep discounts through the University. See this page for details. Notice at the bottom that single user licenses of Microsoft Office are relatively cheap (as low as $52)!

3D Chemical Structure Drawing Programs

CrystalDesigner (Mac only) is used in this course to draw solid state structures, including polyhedral representations. A demo version is available. You can not print or copy structures, but you *can* save data and use all the other functions. This would enable you to work at home or elsewhere and only require you to come to campus to print or paste.

2D Chemical Structure Drawing Programs

• ISIS/Draw from MDL is completely free for academic or personal use and is fully functional. Available for Mac and Windows, it's a hard price to beat!
  
  
  
• ChemDraw Ltd from CambridgeSoft is available in Mac and Windows versions for $99 or less (note the option to click for special student pricing; sometimes they discount deeply!). A free non-printing, non-saving version is also available. They also offer a limited version of the entire ChemOffice suite (including Chem3D) for only $49.
  
  
  
• Bio-Rad (formerly SoftShell) offers ChemWindow for Windows machines, but you have to fill out a form to get student pricing. They also offer free ChemWeb (Mac and Windows) which will only output GIF quality images (72 dpi), which are great for web publishing but poor for anything else.

The University of Michigan today (Dec. 6) announced a multi-year licensing agreement that offers faculty, staff and students Microsoft software products at significantly reduced costs.

The Microsoft Licensing Agreement allows all U-M faculty, staff and students on all three campuses—Ann Arbor, Dearborn and Flint—the use of a specific set of Microsoft products for all of their computers. In addition to gaining access to the most popular Microsoft products, including operating systems and Microsoft Office¨, members of the University community may upgrade their covered Microsoft product licenses to the latest version at discounted prices throughout the life of the agreement.

“The savings we will realize from this agreement will allow us to do other important work while at the same time providing the tools our faculty, staff and students need to succeed,” says Jose-Marie Griffiths, university chief information officer and executive director of the Information Technology Division.

Under the agreement, students, for example, will be able to purchase Microsoft Office 2000 and FrontPage 2000 on CD for $33. The price is a significant savings over the current educational price of $174 for Microsoft Office Professional and the more than $500 price tag in local software supply stores. The $33 package does not include documentation.

The University expects to realize a significant savings for all schools, colleges and administrative units for the software and server licenses and upgrades. Other benefits include more accurate budgeting by departments, and the ability to obtain and install the software on office, home and mobile computers as needed without paying for a license agreement for each machine.

Griffiths notes that while the Microsoft agreement is a cost-saving initiative, the University is not limited to using only Microsoft products. “The University will continue to enter into purchasing agreements with any software vendor who develops products that are requested and required by the University community,” she says.

Students will be able to purchase the Microsoft Office 2000 Professional for Windows, Office 98 for Macintosh, and FrontPage 2000 for Windows with a U-M ID card at the Michigan Union Ballroom 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Dec. 13 and 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Dec.14. Faculty and staff products will be available for individual purchase at the Computer Showcase in the Michigan Union beginning Dec. 13

The University of Michigan today (Dec. 6) announced a multi-year licensing agreement that offers faculty, staff and students Microsoft software products at significantly reduced costs.

The Microsoft Licensing Agreement allows all U-M faculty, staff and students on all three campuses—Ann Arbor, Dearborn and Flint—the use of a specific set of Microsoft products for all of their computers. In addition to gaining access to the most popular Microsoft products, including operating systems and Microsoft Office¨, members of the University community may upgrade their covered Microsoft product licenses to the latest version at discounted prices throughout the life of the agreement.

“The savings we will realize from this agreement will allow us to do other important work while at the same time providing the tools our faculty, staff and students need to succeed,” says Jose-Marie Griffiths, university chief information officer and executive director of the Information Technology Division.

Under the agreement, students, for example, will be able to purchase Microsoft Office 2000 and FrontPage 2000 on CD for $33. The price is a significant savings over the current educational price of $174 for Microsoft Office Professional and the more than $500 price tag in local software supply stores. The $33 package does not include documentation.

The University expects to realize a significant savings for all schools, colleges and administrative units for the software and server licenses and upgrades. Other benefits include more accurate budgeting by departments, and the ability to obtain and install the software on office, home and mobile computers as needed without paying for a license agreement for each machine.

Griffiths notes that while the Microsoft agreement is a cost-saving initiative, the University is not limited to using only Microsoft products. “The University will continue to enter into purchasing agreements with any software vendor who develops products that are requested and required by the University community,” she says.

Students will be able to purchase the Microsoft Office 2000 Professional for Windows, Office 98 for Macintosh, and FrontPage 2000 for Windows with a U-M ID card at the Michigan Union Ballroom 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Dec. 13 and 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Dec.14. Faculty and staff products will be available for individual purchase at the Computer Showcase in the Michigan Union beginning Dec. 13