Free Applications Recommendations

To make a computer useful, everyone needs a variety of applications to support work such as email, browsing the web, writing documents, working on photos, etc. Fortunately, there is a wide variety of excellent free applications available for a great many of resident needs. The Geek Squad has worked with and reviewed many of them and the recommendations below represent the result of their consideration.

Browsers

For a PC, Google Chrome and Firefox are recommended. Chrome is the most popular browser in the world and is very well supported. The new Microsoft browser named Edge also works well, and Microsoft is pushing it very hard, but the Geek Squad has a great deal more experience with Chrome and Firefox and recommends those.

On the Mac, Firefox or Chrome or Safari (the browser built into OSX) browsers all seem to work very well, although most Geeks using Mac computers tend to prefer Firefox or Chrome.

Office Software

For writing documents or spreadsheets (and other office applications), there is no need to purchase a commercial product such as Microsoft Office. Libre Office is a free robust, full featured collection of office applications that is very easy to use for anyone already familiar with Microsoft Office products. It works on both PC and Mac computers.

Support Software

It is sometimes helpful to be able to discuss a computer problem with a member of the Geek Squad without requiring a physical meeting. TeamViewer is a free product which can support remote diagnosis so long as the resident’s computer is sufficiently operational to be on the internet.