Adventuring - The Bear Creek Commentaries

--- Computer software ---

2016

There are a few software packages that I like and a few sites that also make me happy and entertain me. I've already talked about a few in the article, "Open Source and Freeware." Here are a few more.

I have a soft spot (somewhere in my head, I'm sure.) for the old fashion Windows Help files and you can still compose your own with ShalomHelp. But you'll have a hard time connecting your help files to anything. Just use ShalomHelp to read them. Anyway, ShalomHelp is available at several download sites such as Softonic (http://shalom-help-maker-shm.en.softonic.com). Be careful with these download sites. Some are not monitored very well and you are liable to pick up something you don't want. Also, many of them try to sneak in some extra software with the one you're downloading so be sure and read the information on the installers carefully.

Except for "riders" (those extra programs that get snuck in), I've never had any problems with Softonic, Tucows, or CNET. That doesn't mean they never have corrupted software - it just means I've never had a problem with them.

Python is my current favorite non-LibreOffice Basic programming language. It's both fun and powerful, which is why it's also popular. It gives you constant feedback while you compose. If you type in 5+7, it will immediately return 12. The caveat is that older versions of Python are not necessarily compatible with current versions so, if you're going to use a textbook or user guide to learn Python, make sure the text goes with the version of Python that you have. Here's their site:

https://www.python.org

Since I'm a statistician, Free Statistics would reasonably be one of my favorite software venues. This site offers a lot of surprisingly powerful free, open source, and limited edition statistics software at:

http://freestatistics.altervista.org