In these tough, depressing economic times, it’s wise to cut costs whether you’re a consumer or in business. Isn’t it?

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That incorporates seeking cheaper alternatives to some really expensive software. Right? But, inexpensive alternatives don’t need to be low in quality. It’s where Open source software comes in handy.

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What is the difference between Freeware and Open source software?

Freeware – software that is, well, costless to use for an unrestricted period of time. But, it may be proprietary to developers naturally, in that the source code may not be accessed by the users.

Whereas, Open source software (abbreviated as OSS) – software, whose source code is open to users to utilize, study, modify and amend the product, furthermore to redistribute the modified forms – provided, under a proper software license. The initiative following open source is that huge developer communities will be formed around them, where users will bestow on everything from patches to complete new features, and consequently speed up the pace of innovation.

As a general rule, open source software / applications are free to use, modify, redistribute and offer very low prices, albeit you need to pay for paid support.

Keeping that in mind, I’ve compiled a comprehensive list of 20 classy open source alternatives (in between one freeware too) for 12 commercial, most wanted software that tends to cost you an arm and a leg… figuratively!

Let’s Start: On Page 2 > Adobe Photoshop Alternatives and Adobe Illustrator, CorelDRAW Alternative

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So you think Twitter is a waste of time? Well, you need to think again. If used wisely, correctly, twitter can be a treasure chest of information. I’ve come across people who think “What should I do on twitter?” Or something like “Isn’t twitter just about chatting?” Twitter isn’t just a 140 character limit micro blogging service, in fact it has grown into a huge network with great info coming out every single second. Twitter can be fun and interesting too. So, the TOP 10 list below will help throw some light on the fun and amazing things you can do on twitter!

While email itself is a productivity tool, it habitually turns into a freaky task that must be tackled – i.e. if used improperly. Funny comics illustrates the dreaded email cycle you’re suffering. No worries! Here comes the 12 Awesome Email (=Gmail) Productivity Tips you’ll ever need.

What will be your answer if someone asks the question “What drives you to retweet in Twitter?” You may reply instantly “I found the tweet / tweet link to the post interesting. So I retweeted it.” Not a big deal, isn’t it? But apart from this common fact behind retweeting, there exist plenty of things (and obviously not applicable to all). Let’s delve further and find out the 11 Things That Drives You to Retweet in Twitter!

Worth1000 (collection of online arenas where the worlds best artists compete daily in creative competitions) has been conducting a series of ‘Advanced Photo Effects’ contests titled ‘Impossible Celebrity Couples (Creating impossible tabloid pairings)’ over the past few years. It’s quite interesting to conceptualize what it’d have been like if specific celebrities of one era were paired up with celebrities from another era whether on/off screen. Cool! Isn’t it? In this post, I am pleased to share with you 50 (out of 250+) amusingly impossible celebrity couples pictures with contest winners… obviously.