Over the past year I have been "collecting" various free utilities and pieces of software to help with my homework and assignments. Most of these programs have counterparts that you either have to pay for or use in the GSPP computer lab.
| Package | What it Replaces | What you need to know about it |
| PDF Creator | Adobe Acrobat | There is no need to go to the computer lab to generate a .pdf file, nor do you have to shell out cash to Adobe to get Acrobat. Adobe made the .pdf format "public domain" a couple of years ago, and there are now several free, perfectly functional, .pdf making program out there. I have used PDF Creator now for a year with no hiccups at all. |
| FoxIT | Adobe Acrobat Reader | The Adobe Acrobat Reader is the standard program for reading .pdf files. It's free, so most people don't think too much about installing it. But it's also huge and surprisingly unstable for such a common program. It also pops up advertisements in the corner. FoxIt is another program that can read .pdf files and it is small, simple, and perfectly functional. You might be happier with it, especially if your computer is older. Props to Earnie Tedeschi for finding this one. |
| Open Office | Microsoft Office | OpenOffice is a totally free suite of general "productivity" programs including word processor, spreadsheet, etc, just like Microsoft's. It's a bit clunkier than MS Office, but works fine. You can open and save your documents in Microsoft Word and Excel format, too, so none of your classmates will ever have to know that you don't use Word. (until you share your computer while finishing your IPA) |
| At-ats | STATA | Stata is the statistics program taught in our PP240A/B classes, but it is not the only statistics program out there. At-ats is my own attempt at doing what Stata does, but for free. I don't want to pitch my own stuff too hard, but it really works and I've spent a fair amount of time on the project. If you want to avoid shelling out $100 for STATA, At-ats may do everything you need for your statistics class, and the low, low price of $0. |
| The "R" Statistics Project | STATA | Okay, here's a second try at getting you to dump STATA. (You can see how muc I like it). "R" is another free software package to do statistics. Unlike, At-ats, which was designed to work pretty much like STATA (and so inherits most of its lameness), "R" is its own thing. It has its own powerful command and language. However, "R" is also fast, like STATA, and has a team of developers writing new modules for it. This is unlike At-ats, which just has one busy grad student. |
| MChelp | Crystal Ball | Monte Carlo analysis is a neat way of simulating a function whose inputs are random variables, in order to find out how that function is sensitive to various parameters. Crystal Ball is a product that plugs into Microsoft Excel and performs monte carlo analysis. Yawn. Crystal Ball is expensive, but available on the school's lab computers. But monte carlo simulation really isn't that complicated. Basically, you have some objective function that you want to study, under the variation of some of its input variables. You model that variation by supplying random values according to the appropriate statistical distributions. This is the primary -- though not the only function -- of tools like Crystal Ball. I've written a nice, simple monte carlo engine that can create the necessary random values for your Excel sheet. It is a perl script the uses OLE to connect to Excel, and generate random deviates to your specifications. It can create deviates according to most common statistical distributions. The above file, "MChelp.zip" contains the necessary Perl code, as well as a Windows executable which you can use if you don't want to go through the trouble of setting up Perl. I have little documentation, but it should be fairly straightforward. Try the online help, or write me: email me. |
| Yahoo Maps API or Google Maps API |
ArcGIS and other GIS packages |
You've got a lot of data, perhaps in the form of street addresses and you want to put it all on a map. This (among other things) is what Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are all about. As it turns out, you can do this very easily using Yahoo or Google, which have created special Application Programming Interfaces that let you control their mapping services. It's a little bit of work to do so, but I can help you if you're curious. It's really not that hard. For example, for my IPA group, we were able to map all the ATM locations in San Francisco like this. Also, I have received word that you can get a free copy of the student version of ESRI ArcGIS software from the city planning department. |
| Real Alternative | RealVideo Real Audio |
Okay, so watching videos on your computer doesn't have much to do with GSPP -- but there are some good lectures on Berkeley's webcast site that are only available in that format. You could install RealPlayer to watch them, but it's an ugly, huge piece of ad-ware, spyware, and nag-ware. You don't want that. You want something simple that will just play the video files. Try out "Real Alternative". It works and it's free. |
| GanttProject | Microsoft Project | Gantt charts are an easy way to calculate and show the critical path for a large, complex project. Most people are familiar with Microsoft Project, which if you have the complete version of Office, you may have. If you don't, try this freeware program instead. |
| Scribus | Adobe PageMaker or QuarkXPress | If you need to do semi-serious DTP and don't want to shell out megabucks for the premier packages, give Scribus a look. It's a little rough around the edges, but includes most of the basics required for professional looking desktop publishing. I have been able to do my wedding invitations using the software. |
| GIMP (Gnu Image Manipulation Program | Adobe Photoshop | Adobe Photoshop is the premier image editing program, but GIMP can get a lot of the same stuff done, as well, and for free. It's actually quite powerful, and has a learning curve not unlike that of Photoshop. |
| Inkscape | Adobe Illustrator | If you need to edit vector graphics, Inkscape is a good replacement for Illustrator. It even has a bitmap to vector conversion built in that doesn't suck too bad. |
| AutoStitch | (various) | Autostitch is a neat program to take multiple shots from your digital camera and combine them into one phat panoramic. It's simple and usually works. |