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Advice on free PC software, multimedia and web design for individuals and churches

Below are personal recommendations on programs and techniques for your consideration. (The adverts on the left will offer alternative commercial products and services)

The Computer

I am assuming that most of us are PC users. Apple stuff is nice but it is more expensive. If you are buying a PC then you do not need the latest and fastest. The cheapest one in the big High Street shop will do unless you plan to do a lot of video editing or play games in which case you will need a faster one. Remember too that the best programs are the ones that you find easy to use. Fortunately most windows programs work the same way with menus and tool bars. But spending 20 hours training yourself is a bigger investment that the price of a Ł99 program. Ask yourself do you really have to do this? Is there a computer enthusiast who could do this for me, chances are he (it's almost always a he) will already have the required software and knowledge to put up a website or edit a video or whatever you want to do. Or have you got someone newly retired who has just bought a PC and is looking for something to do with it.

If you want a specification then in March 2006 it would be:

Pentium or AMD processor (the Pentium is better advertised so its dearer) speed 2.5 GHz +

You pay through the nose for 10% increments in speed - its not worth it unless you really need a faster one.

DVD player and CD writer, separates or combined. You probably don't need a DVD writer.

512mb of memory - 1Gb if you need the faster computer.

A fast VGA card if games or DVD is important to you, otherwise any vga card or even vga integrated into the mother board (slowest option).

80GB hard drive, bigger if you are going to download movies, or lots of music.

At least a 17" TFT LCD screen - these are nice and compact. The 19" are becoming more common and can be had for just 30 quid more - well worth it - your eyes will notice the difference.

Windows XP home

If you cant decide between two computers get the quietest one.

Look and see what is offered bundled with your computer - you should at least get windows XP. There may be MS Works or other software. If you are using a program and you are happy with it there is no need to upgrade. I'm still using an Art program that I had on windows 95 - (it doesn't even understand long file names) but I'm used to it, its simple and very fast (it was written for a machine 30 times slower) why spend hours learning another program? I am also using a bible text program written for DOS it still runs in windows XP and does the job, so why upgrade.

Laptops

These generally have a lower specification and cost more. I almost never work on the laptop - the key board is too cramped. I use it for presentations with the projector (the laptop screen is big enough if I am talking to a small group).

Projectors

These have dropped in price a great deal over the last two years - they can be had for about Ł500-Ł700 but you may need to spend a lot more to get one powerful enough for a large church.

Printers

If you are a parish minister you should have two printers:

1) the inkjet that you are using now - nice colours, but slow and expensive to run. You can buy these printers brand new for about a quid, yes the price is 30 quid but that includes the ink cartridges which sell for 29 quid so the printer costs a quid. At one point it was cheaper to buy a new printer when the cartridges ran out. I've always used the cheapest ones from Epson or HP. When you buy one look at the price of the cartridges and how long they last - that is where the real cost is - the ink is more expensive than Chanel No 5. The compatible refill cartridges work well and even if they were to knacker your printer (I suspect that this is just the manufacturers propaganda) you will have saved enough money for a new one. Generally speaking unless you you want to make high quality prints of your photographs - I see no reason to buy a more expensive one.

2) Get a black and white laser printer - these can be had for Ł60 to Ł100. They usually come with a deliberately cut down supply of toner which only does 1000 copies (mean trick). The running costs are cheap the cartridge might well cost Ł60 but it may do 3000 copies. They are fast (its the same tech as photocopiers) - you can do 30 copies of papers for a meeting (the purpose of most church committees is to produce the perfect version of the minutes of the last meeting). You might want to consider the ones with a scanner on top (you can put them where the scanner used to be) and they work as stand alone photo copiers. Colour laser printers have really come down in price but are still hard to justify.

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