Music plays a huge part in most of our lives, whether it’s to keep you sane, get you in a certain mood, relax or even used as a study aid.  CD’s are now a thing of the past and we have long since moved on to MP3 downloads, mainly due to the huge popularity of MP3 players such as the iPod and smart phones.

A recent study found that around 80% of 17-24 year olds own some sort of MP3 player, and with the integration of music downloads into the weekly official music chart, it has created a huge digital download market.  The very same study also found that the average legally downloaded music collection stands at around 800 tracks.  In fact the digital downloads market grew 35% just from 2008 to 2009. and in 2009 over 140 million units of single tracks were downloaded.

Because of this popularity, it has created competition, with different sites varying in price, so would you stick with one site if you found out that the same track was available at a much cheaper price from another provider?  Didn’t think so.

The Main Players

Here’s a list of the main providers of digital downloads in the UK:

• Itunes
• Amazon
• cdWOW
• Play.com
• zaavi
• 7digital
• hmv.com
• we7
• Tesco
• Tune Tribe

Example

Let’s use the current no. 1 album this week as an example, 21 by Adele.  It is available for the price of £7.99 from iTunes, but the very same album is selling for a much cheaper £5.99 over at Tune Tribe, that’s a full £2 cheaper.  Let’s say you make that saving of £2 on every album you purchase using the comparison site, and you purchase around 2o albums, that’s a saving of £40.

Using the official no. 2 as another example, we found the most expensive weighing in at £8.47 and the cheapest at £4.99, that’s a difference of £3.48.

How to find the Cheapest Price

To find the cheapest music downloads, you could just manually search each site for the album you want, but that would be very time consuming, so your best bet is to use an MP3 music price comparison site.  The best I have found so far would have to be TuneChecker.  It is extremely easy to use and is the brain child of Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis.  Try it out and let us know what you think.

Remember to leave a comment below, let us know if you know of any other services regarding saving money on music downloads.  Alternatively, visit us on Twitter or Facebook!

We all know that a good office suite is essential for your PC or laptop and is probably used most days of the week to complete all those assignments and course work. By far the most widely used and popular suite is Microsoft Office, which includes Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Access etc. By enlarge your computer or laptop will not come with Microsoft Office pre-installed, but it may be the only suite you know and trust, therefore shelling out upwards of £80 for your copy. For a student living on a tight budget, this is a lot of money, and it’s money you really don’t need to spend.

What you may be surprised to know is that there are completely free alternatives to Microsoft Office, and these alternatives are not just poor imitations, most people who use these free office suites will agree that some are comparable in quality, if not better. Here we have compiled a detailed list to some of the best Microsoft Office alternatives, all freely available to download now.

Open Office

Home Page
Download Page

Open Office is a fantastic open source alternative to Microsoft Office, lauded for its user friendly interface with a no-nonsense and uncluttered layout, but don’t let its simple design detract from the software’s power and functionality. Open office is also much more nimble, making it easier on your system, especially important if you have a lower-end laptop or computer. It’s easy to download and install, if you do hit any unexpected problems, there are plenty of support pages out there. Very highly recommended.

What’s Included?

Writer – word processor

Calc – spreadsheet application

Impress – presentation software

Draw – graphics editor

Base – database application

Google Docs

Home Page

A completely free web-based office suite, this means everything is stored online. There is nothing to download and nothing to install, all you need to do it sign up for a Google account. It doesn’t offer as much advanced functionality as MS Office or Open Office, but it’s very easy to use and is an ideal choice for everyday tasks. Another is advantage is as already mentioned there is nothing to install on your computer, therefore saving hard drive space. Google docs also makes it easy for you to share documents with your friends and co-students.

What’s Included?

Text Documents – word processor

Spreadsheet

Presentation

Form – Form creation application

Drawing – graphics creator/editor

Koffice

Home Page
Download Page

Another brilliant open source office suite, gaining in popularity and user base. Very light and easy to use, this would be a good choice as an alternative to Microsoft Office. Does have support for Windows but can be a little tricky from the reviews we have read, however if you are using Linux as an operating system, Koffice would make a great addition.

What’s Included?

Kword – Word Processor

Kspread – Spreadsheets

Kpresenter – Presentation Software

Kivio – for diagramming and flowcharts

Karbon – graphics suite

Zoho

Hope Page

Another web-based suite, similar to Google Docs. The first thing you will notice when you visit the website is the number of extra features you can access, much more than Google Docs. With Zoho you can access all the standard applications and much more, such as an email client, planners, calendar, notebook, wikis and much more business applications. Zoho offers great sharing and integration facilities.

What’s Included?

Too many to mention, visit the Zoho Website.

Other Noitcable Alternatives:

• GnomeOffice
• Think  Free
• Lotus Symphony

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