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Video Editing: Lightworks
For a long time, nonlinear video editing software was something you just couldn’t really get for free. Microsoft’s Windows Live Movie Maker is free, and can be a good option for very basic video editing tasks, but if you’re looking to put together anything more complicated than a simple home video, it just doesn’t have the feature set you’ll need. Other than that, you’re pretty much out of luck. There’s Blender, which is free and actually has a fairly powerful sequencer, but something just feels off about doing our video editing in a 3D-modeling application. There have also been a number of high-quality open-source video editors in Linux, but those haven’t been of any help in Windows. Until now, that is.
Earlier this year, professional video editing software Lightworks went open source, and released a free version for Windows. The software was formerly a professional film‑editing suite (The King’s Speech, The Departed, and Braveheart are just a few films that were edited in Lightworks), and therefore has a pretty steep learning curve. Additionally, only a handful of codecs are supported for importing footage, unless you upgrade to the Pro version, which is offered for only $60. Even with those caveats, Lightworks is hands-down the most powerful video editing suite you can get for free.
DVD Playback: VLC
If you bought an optical drive to play movies, but don’t have a copy of playback software like Cyberlink PowerDVD, you might think you’re out of luck. But don’t take out your wallet just yet—if all you need is bare-bones video playback, VLC might be just right for you. The free, open‑source player can handle pretty much any digital video file, as well as video DVDs. Blu-ray playback is also possible in VLC, although you’ll need to do a little Googling if you want to watch copy-protected discs.
Operating System: Ubuntu
If you’ve gotten this far in your hunt for free software, it might be time to think about going all the way. That’s right—the ultimate in free computing: Linux. Nearly every program mentioned so far started as a Linux application before being ported to Windows, and there are still more free software packages that aren’t available on Microsoft’s OS.
If you’re ready to get started with Linux, you’ll want to create an Ubuntu Live CD from the website. Ubuntu’s the most user-friendly Linux distro, and the easiest to get started with. Once you’ve downloaded the installer, just burn it to a CD, put the disc in your drive, and restart. When your computer boots from the live CD, you’ll be able to try out Ubuntu and see how you like it. If you want to go all the way, you can install the full operating system to your hard disc.
Linux is great for productivity applications, but it doesn’t always have an equivalent for your favorite Windows applications. You can use WINE in Linux to run most Windows applications natively.
Cloud storage solutions are cheaper and more numerous than ever before, with several contenders just begging to give you something for nothing. But what if one service and 5GB isn’t enough for your vast collection of J-Pop and Klingon poetry? Pay attention, young Padawan: We’ll show you how to get the biggest bang from your lack of bucks when choosing a free cloud service.
Microsoft SkyDrive - Old‑skool SkyDrivers are sitting pretty on 25GB of free cloud storage, but new users are “limited” to 7GB. Even so, that’s more than the competition offers, and SkyDrive hooks deeply into the native apps found in both Windows Phones and Windows 8.
Google Drive - Google Drive offers 5GB of free storage and the same basic functionality as SkyDrive, including the ability to edit documents with others in real time through your web browser. We prefer Google Docs to Microsoft’s Office Web Apps, though, which makes Google Drive a great place to stash documents, spreadsheets, and slide shows.
SugarSync - SugarSync adds another 5GB of free cloud storage to your total, but more importantly, it syncs any folders of your choosing on your PC. The desktop clients of the other services mentioned here force you to stash your files in a predetermined location. That makes SugarSync a terrific option for a hands-off, constantly updated backup of critical folders, such as your Documents folder.
Dropbox - At first blush, Dropbox’s free 2GB offer pales in comparison to the others, but a little legwork opens up a bountiful cornucopia of free storage. Using the Camera Upload feature and linking social media accounts earn you more space, but the big payoff comes in referring friends: Each referral gets you another 500MB, capped at a whopping 16GB of free additional space. Don’t want to bug your pals? We’ve already explained how to game the system.
Add it all up and that’s 22GB of free cloud storage. Plus, Dropbox doesn’t impose size restrictions on files uploaded via the desktop client. It’s ideal for large file dumps.
Box - Box is just a 5GB storage locker; it doesn’t sync files, search text, or offer version histories. What it does do is frequently hold promotions for 50GB of free space. Files are still limited to 100MB in size, though. ADrive offers 50GB free without all the hoop-jumping, but its craptastic web-only interface and lack of mobile support make it more hassle than hurrah.
Grand Total: 44GB, or 119GB if you’re a veteran SkyDrive user who hops on Box’s 50GB offer. Not too shabby for nothing! Protip: With the exception of SugarSync, disable the services’ desktop clients from running at startup to avoid needlessly tying up system resources.
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Comments are closed on this article
Shalbatana
February 12, 2013 at 10:52am
this was a great article when it appeared in the mag, and is just as good upon [umpteenth] re-reading.
riopato
February 10, 2013 at 6:57pm
I want that piggy bank case! The "coin slot" can double as a slot loaded optical drive!
Strangelove_424
February 08, 2013 at 4:19pm
Cool article. The opportunities in computing are infinite, but nobody has an infinite budget. You have to make choices about what you can do and can't do, and take as many shortcuts as you can to get you the rest of the way. There's an art to taking those shortcuts, and you guys have some really creative solutions here.
NavarWynn
February 08, 2013 at 8:05am
Sorry, but google docs kind of really sucks when compared to libreoffice or OO (both still available for the low low price of free). The document writer is tolerable, especially if you need RT multiple party editing, but that is it's only redeeming feature. The presentation, spreadsheet, draw, and form ALL are nearly impossible to use with anything approaching the ease or intuitiveness of most of the suites.
The lack of multiple format support is another critical flaw (though there isn't any reason it couldn't be done easily)
While it is cool, and new, actually USING it, is kind of a huge PITA.
jaygregz
February 07, 2013 at 9:52pm
It's articles like this that make me read maximumpc both online and in the magazine. Great job guys.
AFDozerman
February 07, 2013 at 8:55pm
If you're gonna say linux, at least say something other than ubuntu. Most overrated linux ever.
jaygregz
February 07, 2013 at 9:55pm
It's a perfectly good distro of linux. Not my preference but it certainly is the distro that most would agree would appeal to the most people.
AFDozerman
February 07, 2013 at 10:08pm
I could argue that Ubuntu variants like Mint are earsier to use while retaining the things that make Ubuntu good.
sean76
February 07, 2013 at 11:36am
Skydrive also offers an Android APP besides the windows phone and windows 8 intigration.
xmichaelx
February 07, 2013 at 10:01am
Gimp is a good Photoshop alternative, but most people don't need anything close to that powerful.
Pixlr Editor -- a free app for Chrome -- mimics A LOT of Photoshop's features, including layers. And it's free!
Just remember to save a lot. After all, it's browser-based.
jgottberg
February 07, 2013 at 9:34am
One thing I'll say about Libre Office is that it attempts to install WAY too many freebie crapware apps along with it. The Linux Mint install is great, goes without a hitch and appears to install only the office suite. However, on a Windows box, there must be 35 boxes to uncheck for crap it wants to install that are absolutely NOT essential to the operation of Libre Office.
pcguy94
February 07, 2013 at 6:35pm
You should make sure you actually downloaded the official installer from libreoffice.org. It shouldn't have any crapware bundled with it.
jgottberg
February 08, 2013 at 9:23am
Could have sworn I did but I will make sure next time. Thanks for the heads up.
burntham77
February 07, 2013 at 9:28am
The AMD build here is a very good set of parts. I have almost the same components in my rig at home, and I rarely find a game that cannot run at maximum graphics settings on my 2560x1440 monitor.
I work with some folks who are console gamers, but they are curious about PC gaming. I tell them they can build a PC for fairly cheap, and considering they needed a PC in their home anyway, a budget gaming PC can be incredibly useful.
I have tried some of AMDs recent APUs and they are surprisingly adept at playing modern games at 1080p. Sure, you have to run most games at "medium" graphics settings, but it gets the job done.
vrmlbasic
February 07, 2013 at 11:10pm
Same GPU?
The 6850 is a decent performer and via AMD's convenient OC'ing options I've eked a bit more performance out of it but I'm noticing some issues in maintaining a solid 60+ fps at 1920*1080 in several mainstream games with the settings maxed. Deus Ex:HR and Borderlands 2 come to mind. Both are lackluster console ports, though the devs did put in more effort than was required, but even after the requisite .INI tweaking to improve FPS (cough BL 2 cough) I'm still seeing my FPS dip into the low 50s in certain areas.
Dysthymia
February 07, 2013 at 5:44am
Didn't you run an article recently about how MSE has failed it's AV-Test certification? How can you justify recommending Microsoft Security Essentials when other free alternatives have better detection rates and have earned this certification?
someuid
February 07, 2013 at 2:13pm
Because this cheapskate article was in the October 2012 edition of MaximumPC, meaning it was researched and written in August/September 2012.
MS's AV cert failures happened more recently than that.
ervit
February 07, 2013 at 4:28am
In 2007 I built a cheap system with a plan to upgrade in the next few years. It had an MSI p35 Neo motherboard, an e4300 Core2Duo CPU, 8600GT video card, a 2x1GB RAM kit, a 160GB HDD and a budget PSU. As prices came down, I now have on the same motherboard an overclocked Q9550 Core2Quad CPU (bought from MicroCenter for $195 in 2011, overclocked to 3.2GHz - the max I can go without overclocking the RAM), a 9800GT video card (bought in 2009 for $115), a 500GB HDD, a 120GB SDD, 4x2GB RAM (2 kits) (RAM and SSD bought in December), a 600W CoolerMaster Silent series PSU, and I upgraded Windows Vista to Windows 8 for $40. Except for the old processor, all old components are in use either on my other computer or in my friends' computers, so nothing went to waste! My computer is fast for my needs (playing TF2 and work) and I hope it will live another 3-5 years!
(PS: capacitors on the motherboard need replacing every now and then, but I have a friend who solders them without much trouble and for free! we have changed all the caps around the CPU and a couple others, and two more are waiting to be replaced, but the system is solid even with those two bulging)
azuza001
February 06, 2013 at 10:22pm
Wow, I agreed with everything in this article. Especially the 600$ build at the end, thats almost a to-the-t build that I built for a friend a few months ago! Only difference is we bought our parts used off of craigslist over a 2 month span to save money but it's still damn close to that system. Good job on this article, always love coming here.
thematejka
February 06, 2013 at 8:28pm
Great article. More need to know about freeware, and that you don't need expensive 'professional' or 'leet' hardware and programs to get the job done. The true mark of a tech nerd is how well they can utilize what they have to the fullest.
At my university, the staff and faculty mostly use freeware and cloud applications. With a good pipe from Shaw and great local-server maintenance, we save piles of money from avoiding volume licence software (except the design students, they need their Macs and Adobe software).
Electrik
February 06, 2013 at 7:24pm
Great article. Probably the biggest single expense in home entertainment is cable. Cut everything except for internet, get a good antennae, and never look back.
You’ll save $100 per month. I did it, best move I’ve made in years. I don’t miss the crap I never watched.
Do go to Antennae.org and check your coverage; if you're lucky, all the transmission towers are on one hilltop.
I get thirteen channels, six in Hi-Def, all the local and national channels and I've never missed a major event. Plus a couple of weird yet pretty cool channels I never new existed.
CaptainFabulous
February 06, 2013 at 9:32pm
Many times even if you don't pay for cable TV, only Internet, there are unscrambled channels that you can still watch on your TV.
Where I am Time Warner puts in a line filter that blocks analog channels 5-68 and that's it. Any analog stations outside that range I can watch, and all unencrypted digital channels I can watch too, including HD. It's nice, especially since I'm too far away from a city to pick up any OTA channels. Not too bad for free.
goodtime
February 06, 2013 at 8:39pm
and for around $50 you can get a tv tuner card to make up for the lack of a expensive dvr.
Peanut Fox
February 06, 2013 at 7:43pm
Do you add to your viewing at all with any streaming services?
jgottberg
February 07, 2013 at 9:21am
I cut the cable over two years ago. I still need cable internet service because it's the only option (not even DSL - WTF, it's 2013). What I did was piece together a decent HTPC with two digital tuners, 7.1 audio card with optical to my receiver for surround, and installed a Bluray drive. With Windows 8, I have both Netflix and hulu apps installed and the built-in cable guide works great for the free OTA channels I get. No reason for me to ever go back to paying $180 a month for cable.
Electrik
February 06, 2013 at 8:54pm
I tried to add some links to some pretty good streaming video and other sources of on-line entertainment.
NOW your spam filter works?
*sigh*
Anyway, go to Blockbuster before they close and raid 'em like Blackbeard, if you get my drift.
vrmlbasic
February 06, 2013 at 10:16pm
Blockbuster is long gone in my area. Many of the old stores still sit abandoned, unloved and unclaimed. Some might say it is the lackluster economy in my tax-'n-spend state but I think that no business wants to be located in a storefront which was once occupied by a company that killed itself.
Blockbuster's implosion left metaphorical salt in all their former sites around here. Like Carthage, nothing will ever grow there again.
Corfy
February 06, 2013 at 7:16pm
I just wanted to add my favorite free music service to the mix. Jamendo.com has hundreds of thousands of songs available for streaming and downloading, and it is 100% free. The catch? It is all independent artists who have released their songs under a Creative Commons license. Granted, there is a lot on the site that isn't worth listening to, but isn't that true of any service, even the paid ones? I've found a lot of real gems on the site over the last couple of years, to the point where most of the songs in my playlist are from Jamendo.
