What minimum software I need on my PC for internet marketing?

I would say...just Office.

You can save Office Files as PDF...and if you're not making PDF's, then you probably don't need anything.

If you want to make videos...I recommend Camtasia, but that's like $257 off amazon.

First of all I suggest you consider what you want to to do and what is your budget. You need a computer and an operating system but after that the world is your oyster.

If you have the resources then sure, buy MS Office with all the bells and whistles that go with it. Personally speaking I've used Microsoft since 1999 and I even built websites using the FREE version of Microsoft FrontPage that came out in those days - and that's a long time ago!!!!

But over the years I got fed up with trying to keep up with MS by having to buy upgrades and, despite the fact that I have now "made the grade" I now use open source tools like Open Office for all my back-end office requirements. Open office is also able to instantly convert documents to PDF so I don't need any third party software for that task. I also use Thunderbird as an email client instead of paying a fortune for MS Outlook.

Open Office and Mozilla Thunderbird are FREE. I have been using them both for a few years now in a business and IMHO they are totally reliable. But the problem is that FREE can be interpretated as having little or no value. I would suggest you try these products. If you don't like them - and I cannot see any reason why you shoudn't - then please spend your money on MS.

Hope this helps a litte bit

Neill

1) For PDF conversion, you can use pdfonline .com (free).

2) I wouldn't get Dragon... record yourself with your own voice.

3) You need a video file converter for Youtube/video marketing.

4) Get a free software called "Audacity"

5) Microsoft Office will suffice

6) Get Camstudio for free for screencasts

7) Antivirus software (a good and strong one - like Kaspersky)

8) A good website editor and builder tool

If you're embarking on an online career, you're headed in the right direction as far as software/hardware. That's the bare necessities to get you going. The only other thing I would recommend is a software or database service in the form of an auto responder. You can usually get this at one of the online provider like Aweber or GetResponse. It's relatively cheap in forms of cost and for that matter I think the first month may cost you a buck.

I have to disagree here, Dragon is a must have, it will save you alot of time when it comes to creating content.

You really don't need much. I mainly just use Office. Most PCs will already come with MS Office installed so you don't need to worry about that. I think the bare minimum is just MS Office. You could also look into getting Photoshop or Flash - some graphic design programs won't hurt.

Hello Peter,

OpenOffice can save files as PDFs (I presume Office can do that too, now - it couldn't at one time). The only disadvantages are that OpenOffice has been turned into LibreOffice - LibreOffice continues to be updated and is more compatible with the later forms of Office (not sure about 2010 file formats, doubt 2013 file formats are compatible yet if there are any changes - not sure). OpenOffice, I think, is being updated again, but is still behind. For older .doc, .xls, .ppt files, it does well, but not as much with .docx, and especially with .xlsx and .pptx file formats. LibreOffice is likely the better of the two between it and OpenOffice.

Another lesser-known software that is comparable to Microsoft Word is Softmaker Office out of Germany. It was quite good in opening Office 2010 file formats, virtually as if you had Microsoft Office on your system. Note that Softmaker Office is not free, but is cheaper than MS Office ($79.95 for 3 PC Standard license, $99.95 for 3 PC Professional license; Standard and Professional differ in that Professional has Softmaker's email client, whereas Standard doesn't). When the next version comes out, it's $34.95 for Standard upgrade, $44.95 for Professional upgrade. I believe Softmaker Office still provides a free trial, allowing you to use the program 10-20 times (don't remember the exact number) before you are required to purchase a license, enabling you to see if you like the program or not.

I've found that it worked very well with .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx files, so I would consider it as a viable option.

I agree about Camtasia, depending on if you need all of those features. I'm not sure if any other software program does everything Camtasia does. I know that you can sometimes get Camtasia on eBay for about $229-$249 (there are $99 ones, but that's only for academia - students - and you must show proof, so those aren't options unless you are a current student). I don't know if that affects the warranty (though I think the one on eBay I'm thinking of is a verified reseller, so I think the warranty would still apply even with the purchase on eBay).

Otherwise, software programs like Jing can produce videos if you just want to capture your screen and talk about what you are doing.

Yes, Dragon Naturally Speaking does convert voice to text, which can be useful for email, document files, and more.

There are alternatives to Photoshop - GIMP, Paint.net, BB Flashback - so you can get by without Photoshop.

Hope this helps - good luck!

Take care,

Joe Chengery

MS Office is good. But just like everyone is recommending, if you want a free word software, you can have OpenOffice. And yeah, stick to Win 7. Much better than Win 8.