TFSS-02 – Free Audio Books and Office Suites

Our report on Free Comic Book Day, free audio books and free office suites.

Teaser :00

Intro :09

Show Sponsor 1:21
Looking for your next career? Look no further than JobCastCentral.com. Employers, list your jobs for FREE, at Jobcast Central! No charge, no limit! It’s free! Go to www.jobcastcentral.com.

Discussion Topic 1:42
We tell you how much free stuff we got last week on Free Comic Book Day. We also report how we experienced first hand why such free offers really do attract more customers and increase sales for the merchants and companies who offer them.

Free alternatives to Microsoft® Office 8:52

Free audio books at Librivox.org 12:10

Wrap up and Close 14:40
Comments, questions or suggestions? Do you know of some freebies to share? send them in to comments[at]thefreestuffshow.com. Or submit them to our web site at thefreestuffshow.com! Like our show? Take our Audience Survey!

©2015 Savoia Media. All rights reserved.

Free Audio Books

Librivox_kgrIf you like audio books, listen to this. You can your own personal library of audio books that you get FREE!

Librivox is a collection of audio books available for free in the public domain. There are thousands of titles to choose from, covering everything from classic fiction, plays and poetry to non-fictional works that are historical, educational or autobiographical.

The audio books are free to download and save to your computer, mp3 player, mobile device, or burn on a CD to listen to and enjoy. According to their web site, the Librivox objective is “To make all books in the public domain available, for free, in audio format on the internet”.

Librivox is a non-commercial, non-profit and ad-free project powered by volunteers and donates its recordings to the public domain. The audio books are free to download, distribute and re-purpose as needed in the United States.

Free Alternatives to Microsoft Office

Microsoft Office is a great suite of programs for creating documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, but it’s costly. Some people may not be able to afford it or simply don’t see a point in spending money on it. Fortunately, there are some great free alternatives!

Free Office Productivity Suites

OpenOffice.org is the premiere alternative to Microsoft Office. Also known as Apache OpenOffice, this suite of programs empowers you to create documents, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics and more. You can also edit existing files created by Microsoft Office and other office suites with little or no difficulty. It’s also open source, which means it is free to download and use.

LibreOffice.org – LibreOffice.org is another free alternative to Microsoft Office and is very similar to OpenOffice.org. Check out this feature comparison between LibreOffice 4.4.3 and Microsoft® Office 13 .

Zoho.com – Zoho.com is a web based system used for creating and managing documents, e-mail and projects for your business. It is available in a free and paid version.

Google Docs – Google Docs is yet another great way to make documents similar to OpenOffce.org. The link above will bring you to the Google sign-up page. Keep in mind that you will have to create a Google account or use a pre-existing one to access Google Docs.

These free productivity packages are great ways to create and edit your documents or spreadsheets if you are unable to purchase Microsoft Office. If you’re in need of productivity software for office applications, any of these will help get the job done!

TFSS-01 – Welcome To The World of Free

Free stuff is everywhere. But is it really free? Also, we tell you about some free magazines, downloads and something called free comic book day.

Teaser :00

Intro :19

Show Sponsor 1:34
Looking for your next career? Look no further than JobCastCentral.com. Employers, list your jobs for FREE, at Jobcast Central! No charge, no limit! It’s free! Go to www.jobcastcentral.com.

Discussion Topic 1:55
Today we’ll find out just how much free stuff is available to us and how much of it we really do get for free. We’ll also tell you how you can get free publications and talk about an annual event that’s all about free comics.

Free Trade Publications 10:51

Free Comic Book Day 2015 13:31

Wrap up and Close 18:36
Comments, questions or suggestions? Do you know of some freebies to share? send them in to comments@thefreestuffshow.com. Or submit them to our web site at thefreestuffshow.com! Like our show? Take our Audience Survey!

©2015 Savoia Media. All rights reserved.

Free trade publications and technical downloads for professionals

If you’re a professional who wants to stay on top or you are searching for a career in a particular industry, One of the best ways to do this is by utilizing a readily available resource that is chock-full of valuable content that will keep you informed and in the loop. I’m talking about industry trade publications.

Nearly every industry has at least one trade publication that professionals subscribe to and follow to keep up with current news and trends in their chosen field.

Trade publications include both electronic and print magazines, periodicals, white papers, multimedia webinars, audio and video podcasts and other media. They are a great source of  news and content about products, services, issues and trends in the industries they cover. Of course, they are also full of self-promotion and sales pitches, but if you are a professional, who needs to keep up with what’s happening in a specific market or industry, it’s readily available to you so you can improve job skills, market yourself to potential employers or start your own business.

These publications are a great way to educate yourself because you can peruse them at your leisure. You can subscribe to as many as you need or want or you can focus on the ones that are specific to your area of the business.

The best thing about these publications is that nearly all of them are FREE to professionals who qualify. If you work in an industry or field covered in a particular publication, all you have to do is fill out a qualifying form to show that you meet the requirements as an industry professional.

Trade publications are not aimed at the general public, so the form is necessary to filter out those who are not qualified. It takes a few minutes to fill out the form, but once you do and are approved, you are in. Overall, it is well worth the investment. After all, they are free, and you can’t beat free.

I subscribe to several trade publications myself. Some I read regularly. Others I use as a reference when needed. All of them connect me to the industry I am in and provide content I can use to help me stay informed.

All you need to do is go to jobcastcentral.tradepub.com, browse through the list of trade publications available, fill out the form to qualify and your done. There is no credit card required and no payment to make. The trade publications are free to qualified professionals.

Free trade publications and technical downloads for professionals

Free Comic Book Day 2015 is less than a week away!

Each year, comic book and hobby stores around the country have contributed to an annual celebration called Free Comic Book Day. Its blunt and straightforward title describes exactly what happens: people give away free comic books. Simple.

Of course, before you begin dreaming of walking out of your local comic shop with boxes of your favorite comics free of charge, I must inform you that there are limitations. First of all, you can only get three comic books per person, so choose carefully. Second, there are only certain comics printed specifically for Free Comic Book Day 2015. You may recognize these by the titles “FREE COMIC BOOK DAY” that will be placed in bold letters on the top of the cover. If that isn’t obvious enough, the comics will be separated on tables set out for this occasion.

Free Comic Book Day takes place annually on the first Saturday in May, so this year it will fall on Saturday, May 2nd.

Be sure to check out the official website for all the details that I was too lazy to type down.

Also, take a look at the list of all 50 comics that will be available this year, as well as some sneak peeks.

Just make sure not to come to late, or else it will all be gone! Will you be waiting in line first thing in the morning? I know I will.

Welcome to the world of FREE stuff!

My son and I like free stuff. We’ve been fans of freebies for years. Always in search of a bargain, we have taken advantage of many opportunities to obtain something for nothing or almost nothing. Whether it’s free food samples at the local warehouse club or free trinkets at a trade show, free stuff is fun to acquire. It’s kind of a hobby of ours, and we are always searching for the next free thing.

Now we’re taking our hobby to the next level. After all, what’s more fun than finding a great deal? Sharing the experience with the world, of course!  The Free Stuff Show is a podcast for freebie fans who are searching for the next free thing. This web site is the home of the show and a place to network with other fans of freebies and exchange hints, tips and sources of free stuff with one another. By creating a community for freebie fans everywhere, we can all find free stuff together!

Welcome to the world of FREE stuff!