How to get free software (GiveAwayoftheDay)

In one of my net wonderings I've encountered a site that seems to get more and more popularity, GiveAwayOfTheDay. As the site suggests (sort of), they're offering for free every day licensed software you'd have to buy otherwise.

The Good:

• you get a program for free each day


• you get a game for free each day (on a subdomain, game.giveawayoftheday.com)


• some of the programs are very good (and expensive), like they've featured FlashSpring Pro, a program that normally sells for $150

The Bad:

• you have to activate the program while the promotion is still running (24 hr), otherwise you will just end up with the trial


• if you uninstall the program or reinstall the system, you lose the registration since it works only if it's activated (and since the activation can be done for one day only...)

So, here is a step by step tutorial:
1. First you download the program that they're featuring. It's always an archive where normally is the setup of the program, a readme file and an Activate.exe program.

2. After that you run the setup to install the software, first you'll get a nag screen presenting info about the project and also some other programs from the same author:



3. Once the software is installed you have to run the Activate.exe program, which will connect to the internet and if the promotion is still active it will register the program. Make sure your firewall lets it connect.



4. Last thing is you get the registration key (if any, sometimes it just adds it directly to your registry) and you use it to register the program. Note that this may vary from program to program, meaning for some of them they simply add the registration directly to your registry instead of you having to copy/paste it.



That's it. You have now the program registered and you can freely use it until you reinstall your system.

Now you might ask why developers accept to do this. First of all the GAOTD pays the developer that gives them the right to run a promotion for a certain program. Second, given the fact that after you reinstall your system (for instance) you cannot have the program registered, they hope you'll buy it. Third, if they have other programs those are featured on the promotion page, and might result in a couple of licenses sold too.

Free accounting software from Microsoft

It's called Microsoft Accounting Express 2007 and seems (at least judging by the price) to be a good alternative to QuickBooks (which is like $300). You can download it from IdeaWins (website Microsoft set up for this). Note that the download is about 208 MB, so it should take a while to complete.



Above it's a screen, below are some of its features:

• Import data from other programs such as Intuit QuickBooks, Microsoft Money, and Microsoft Office Excel


• Create customized estimates, invoices, and purchase orders


• Track expenses automatically


• Automate bank accounts and customer payments


• Store and organize customer, contact, employee, vendor, and financial information in a single location


• Export reports to Excel 2007 for further analysis in just one click


• Share your books with your accountant and still continue using them for your day-to-day business


• Share data more securely with your accountant via Microsoft Office Live


• List items on eBay


• Track activity in real time and download and process orders


• Send invoices in an e-mail message that includes a direct link to PayPal


• Process credit card payments quickly

Ok, free from Microsoft? Where's the catch I see you asking. Well this Express edition is free, but there's a Professional edition too that sells for like $150. So they're hoping to get some money from the upgrades. Plus, they're promoting the Office 2007 applications with this. Anyway, bottom line is that small businesses will find this more than enough for their needs.

Affiliate program from Marketiva

[Update] You can read a review on Marketiva's affiliate program here: Marketiva affiliate program.
No I'm not dead. I've just been too occupied to post something on this blog (I know, lame excuse for no posts in the last 4 months). I'm reviving it though. Just like I've restored my Marketiva account from hybernation (good thing they didn't disable it) after 3+ months with no activity. For those that don't know what that is, I've posted last year (when I've opened my account with them) a small description about Marketiva. Good thing they still offer the $5 free on live trading. Anyway, I was saying that I restored it from hybernation, just to see what's up lately. Played a little with the new interface, looked over some charts and thought I should look over the affiliate reports tab too, to see if anyone joined. And that's where the surprise was, seems like I received $301 in one month as an affiliate commission. Here is a screen for non-believers:


Anyway, given my trading skills I'm sure I'll lose the money very soon. Back to life. I'll continue using my account on Marketiva and also post to this blog more often. In the last 4 months nothing important really happened. Google once again demonstrated its financial power by paying 1.65 billion dollars for YouTube, Microsoft seems to be close in releasing Vista to consumers in time, Wii and PlayStation 3 were launched, Britney Spears wanted revenge and showed Kevin what he's missing by not wearing underwear, and so on.