The LL project

(Jeg fikk min første blogg [Peefy, the blog] i 2005, og denne posten er hentet fra den. Jeg har satt publiseringsdato til da den opprinnelig ble publisert.)

What is “The LL project” you might ask. It’s the Legal Laptop project!
For a couple of weeks ago (or maybe more like a month) I got a laptop. I was ordering it for The Gathering, but it didn’t arrive before the day after I left. Even before I bought it I knew that I would try this project, and it has gone well this far.
The LL project is a project to keep my laptop 100% legal. Not to have ONE mp3 file, not a single program that isn’t freeware, trial or full version. It might seem lik e an easy task for most, but for those of us that use our computers to a bit more than internet, it get’s a bit hard after a while. It can be compared with climbing the Mt. Evrest, allthugh that isn’t really right.
I had to find an alternative to almost everything that was on my computer, which isn’t really easy. I’m still looking for good replacements for some good applications.
Here is a list of what I use for diffrent stuff and links where to get. If you find anything you think is better than this, please let me know  🙂

Operation System
I was lucky, Windows XP Pro came with the computer, so I own that legally. Oh, and please don’t comment about “USE LINUX!!” and stuff like that, it really don’t do anything else than bothering me.
Internet browser
I’ve allways been a big fan of Opera. Simply because it has all the features I need and features that I didn’t know I needed. It has everything, which makes it perfect for those who like to get the best internet experience. It’s also faster and takes less memory than IE and FireFox.
This is free aslong as there is a two-line ad at the top of the window. Some people say this is annoying, but that is because they don’t want to like it.
FireFox is also a good alternative too, allthough it lacks ALOT of features (many of them probably exist as extentions, but why bother.)
Mail
Opera has an excellent built-in mail client.
IRC
For this I have two alternatives,
opera is good if you only are one 2-4 channels,
but mIRC is better if you are on more and multiple servers.
mIRC pretends that it actually costs, but it’s really a trial that lasts forever.
Image editing
Now THIS is a tough one. Finding a free image-editor that is good is hard. The GIMP is the most famous free one, and has the most functions. But one thing is a major drawback. It’s made for Linux. There is a Windows version too, but it has a terrible interface and everything is just way to hard. The second best one (I have found) is PhotoPlus 5.0. It might not has as many functions, but the interface is pretty.
Animation
I haven’t really looked for this, but I still did find one that I like to play with. It’s not capable of making color animations, but it still is very fun to play with. I did an attempt to translate it to English, but gave up after a while. I did get some done though, and you can download the a-bit-translated verison here: EasyToon
Flash
I have yet to find a good replacement for this 🙁
3D
Even I’m not much into 3D, I sometimes try. I do legally own version 6 of Cinema 4D, but if you want a free 3D software, I highly recomend Blender 3D.
Office
OpenOffice. Suprise suprise.
Multiplayer game/Counter Strike
To be honest I don’t really like CounterStrike, but what I really really do like, is CounterStrike 2D. It’s CounterStrike, only in 2D. It has multiplayer, the same leves and everything. And it’s free (and even opensource for those who care.) You’ll find me as “Peefy”, and often with a bad stat.
Music
Instead of downloading mp3’s I use radio’s. I’ve never been much into music, and mostly just listen to whatever is on. The program I use is Norwegian, so it might not be as good for people that aren’t from Norway, but here is the link anyway: Asellus netradio.

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