11 Free Photo Editors for Windows

Apakah anda memiliki bakat seni? misalnya melukis atau menggambar? Saat ini kegiatan melukis dan mengedit foto tidak perlu lagi dilakukan secara manual. Banyak sekali software yang dikembangkan untuk hal tersebut (design grafis). Ada beberapa software yang terkemuka yang dapat membantu kegiatan kreativitas anda. Namun untuk memilikinya anda harus mengeluarkan biaya yang tidak kecil. Jika Anda tidak mampu untuk membeli perangkat lunak, Anda tetap dapat menemukan perangkat lunak bebas untuk membuat dan mengedit gambar. Berikut ini beberapa perangkat lunak design grafis yang dapat anda gunakan secara gratis :

1. PhotoScape
On first glance, I thought Photoscape was going to be a dud, but I dug in deeper and realized why so many readers of this site have recommended it as a favorite free photo editor. It is jam-packed with features, while remaining very easy to use. Photoscape provides several modules including a viewer, editor, batch processor, Raw converter, file renamer, print layout tool, screen capture tool, color picker, and more. I'm very impressed overall at what has been packed into this free photo editor without sacrificing ease of use.

2. GIMP for Windows
GIMP is a popular open-source image editor originally developed for Unix/Linux. Often lauded as the "free Photoshop," it does have an interface and features similar to Photoshop, but with a steep learning curve to match. Because it's volunteer-developed beta software, stability and frequency of updates could be an issue; however, many happy users report using GIMP for Windows without significant problems.

3. Paint.NET
Paint.NET is a free image and photo manipulation software for Windows 2000, XP, Vista, or Server 2003. Paint.NET started development at Washington State University with additional help from Microsoft, and continues to be updated and maintained by some of the alumni that originally worked on it. Paint.NET features layers, painting and drawing tools, special effects, unlimited undo history, and levels adjustments. Paint.NET is completely free, and the source code is also available for free.

4. Serif PhotoPlus
For a long time, Serif has given away previous versions of their software to entice users to purchase the current version. Currently you can download a completely free, fully-functional version of PhotoPlus 6. PhotoPlus 6 features an export optimizer, editable text, image slicing and image maps, selection tools, smart shapes, third-party plug-in support, red-eye removal tool, and photo enhancement tools. PhotoPlus 6 works on Windows 95, 98, 98 SE, 2000, NT4, and XP.

5. Photo Pos Pro
Photo Pos Pro is a free photo editor with advanced features and a well-design interface. From the developer: "Though the Photo Pos Pro software is a powerful program, it contains an extremely user-friendly interface enabling you to work intuitively. If you are a beginner you can easily begin to use the program in an intuitive fashion. With the Help system, you can turn from a beginner to a professional user." I've read a lot of good comments about this photo editor.

6. Pixia
Pixia is the English version of a popular free painting and retouching software that originated in Japan. It features custom brush tips, multiple layers, masking, vector- and bitmap-based drawing tools, color, tone, and lighting adjustments, and multiple undo/redo. Like many freeware editors, there is no support for saving GIF format. Pixia is also available for many other languages. Pixia works with Windows 95, 98, Me, NT4, 2000, and XP.

7. VCW VicMan's Photo Editor
This award-winning graphic editor offers a variety of painting and editing tools and features including a text tool, gradients, selections by color or region, color replacement, editing in any scale, special effects and so on. The free version used to be an enticement to upgrade to the Pro version, but as of December 2006, the Pro version is free.

8. PhotoFiltre
PhotoFiltre offers a simple, but elegant user interface and a lot of one-click image adjustments, filters, and effects. There is a built in image explorer panel for visually navigating your file system, basic drawing, painting, retouching and selection tools, and batch processing capabilities. PhotoFiltre is free for private, non commercial or educational use (including non-profit organizations).

9. Ultimate Paint
Ultimate Paint is available in both shareware and freeware versions for image creation, viewing, and manipulation. It has been designed to be fast and compact, and if you're familiar with the old Deluxe Paint program from Electronic Arts, Ultimate Paint is said to be very similar. The freeware version is an older release of the full-featured shareware product.

10. ImageForge
ImageForge is a freeware image editor with painting and editing tools. Allows you to import images from scanners and digital cameras, apply special effects filters, and create photo albums and slideshows. Although this is teaser program for the shareware ImageForge PRO, it's probably a few steps above Microsoft Paint.

11. Picasa
Technically, Picasa does not meet my criteria for a photo editor because it does not allow you to do pixel-level editing. However, I have received so many reader suggestions for Picasa, that I am including it here as an honorary mention. Although it does have some basic editing functions, it is primarily photo organizing software, and as such it is listed in my Top Digital Photo Software for Family Photos list.

8 Free Office Suites Alternatif

Microsoft Office mungkin menjadi populer disaat ini. Aplikasi perkantoran yang dikembangan oleh Microsoft ini begitu banyak yang menggunakannya. Bukan hal baru lagi, bahwa aplikasi ini bisa ditemukan di rumah, sekolah, warnet, dan perkantoran. Sayangnya jika ingin aplikasi ini tidak gratis. User tentunya harus membeli. Kenyataan yang saya lihat, banyak yang menggunakan yang bajakan. Tentunya ini melanggar UU tentang hak cipta. Bisa didenda atau dipenjara.

Solusi terbaik adalah menggunakan Office Suite yang benar-benar 'aman', berikut ini pilihan yang bisa digunakan untuk keperluan sehari-hari.

1. Google Docs – This is probably the most heard of Office competitor that most people already know about. Google Docs is completely online and includes a web-based Word Processor, Spreadsheet application, and a Presentation app. More on Google Docs features (incl. introduction video).

2. Zoho – Zoho is probably the best online office productivity suite with not only word processor, spreadsheet and presentation apps, but also includes online project management, CRM solutions, web conferencing, online database with reports, online planner, group chat, wiki, and lots more. It also includes a plug-in for MS Office so you can work both online or offline. Learn more about Zoho.

3.Thinkfree – Thinkfree claims to have the best integration with Microsoft Office. Also, the interface for each app is very similar to MS Office including the toolbars, icons, and functions. Thinkfree also has advanced collaboration features such that users can share, edit, and contribute their ideas remotely. More on Thinkfree (incl. video demos and screenshot).

4.StarOffice – StarOffice is from Sun Microsystems and has recently been released under the Google Pack as a free download. StarOffice runs on Windows, Linux, and Solaris systems. You’ll have to download OpenOffice if you want it for the Mac.

5. IBM Lotus Symphony – IBM Lotus Symphony is a direct competitor to the Microsoft Office suite because it is also a desktop application aimed at individuals and businesses. The suite consists of Symphony Documents, Symphony Presentations, and Symphony Spreadsheets. I wrote about it before, so if interested check out my IBM Symphony review.

6. OpenOffice – OpenOffice is a multi-platform (Win, Mac, Linux) and multi-lingual office suite which is compatible with all major office suites (i.e. Microsoft Office). It includes Writer (word processing), Impress (presentation), Math, Draw, Calc (spreadsheet), and Base applications. IBM Lotus Symphony and StarOffice are both based on the code from OpenOffice.

7. Kingsoft Offilce - Kingsoft Office 2009 is a full-featured office productivity suite which includes Kingsoft Writer, Kingsoft Presentation, and Kingsoft Spreadsheets which are the three basic but essential applications to help you easily create professional documents without retraining process. With its innovative applications, Kingsoft Office is the best alternative to Microsoft Office and it offers quality features at an affordable price.

8. LibreOffice - LibreOffice is the power-packed free, libre and open source personal productivity suite for Windows, Macintosh and GNU/Linux, that gives you six feature-rich applications for all your document production and data processing needs: Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, Math and Base. Support and documentation is free from our large, dedicated community of users, contributors and developers. You, too, can get involved!