A lot of us have made changes in our spending habits in the face of recent events. It's the wise thing to do in an uncertain economy. But we still want to be generous with those we love. Our December newsletter is our second on Open Source software, software that's freely available to anyone. There are many applications that are available, from educational games (including some we like to use in class) to financial management programs (similar to Quicken) to photo editing programs and more.

So, we offer this advice: Before downloading and installing any free software from the web, make sure that

• your operating system is up to date,
• that your security software (like Norton or MacAfee or whatever you're using) is up to date, and
• that you download only from reputable sites that screen their contents for malware and viruses.