WordPress is the most popular blogging engine on earth.

It is a powerful and extremely flexible open-source platform and is the basis of thousands of blogs. But WordPress was developed for Linux, and uses the PHP language and the MySQL database, which aren’t native to Windows. So some people mistakenly believe WordPress cannot run on Windows or that getting it to run is difficult.

But nothing could be further from the truth. Microsoft actually provides an convenient and easy-to-understand installation package for WordPress which installs a PHP interpreter and the MySQL database package right along with it. Best of all, it’s all free!

To install WordPress on either a Windows desktop version or Windows Server, you must use the Windows Platform Installer, found here: microsoft.com/web/wordpress/. The installation is surprisingly easy. Just follow the simple instructions and you will be blogging like a pro before you know it.

Our pick for the best anti-virus & anti-spyware program currently available is Microsoft AntiSpyware.

The team at Redmond have really come up with a winner with this application. With a continually updated database (which is download automatically to your PC) of viruses and spyware we have found that Microsoft AntiSpyware has been able to detect and actually remove many malicious programs that other spyware removers could not handle.

In addition to being able to detect, block, and remove spyware this application comes with many other useful features. It features 3 real time security agents which continually monitor your Internet connection, your system settings, and your applications for any attempts to subvert your preferred settings.

Finally, you are also afforded a set of advanced tools which despite the name and incredible handy and easy to use. First you have your System Explorer which allows you to change many of the hard-to-find features of your PC. Second you have your Browser Restore. This one can be particularly handy when you find that your browser is not setup the way you like it. Finally, the Tracks Eraser which is a robust privacy tool that can remove all Internet History logs from your web browsing history as well as 50 other activity trails. It can even clean up trails from many other popular software applications such as your Instant Messaging software and media players.

Microsoft AntiSpyware really is your one stop application for PC Security and best of all, it’s free!

Other applications of interest include:

• Spybot
• Ad Aware
• Zone Alarm

LibreOffice, The Document Foundation’s new office suite, is a great choice for anyone that wants all of the functionality of Microsoft Office without the expensive price tag.

The office suite is an open source fork of OpenOffice.org that was created in 2010 in the aftermath of Oracle’s acquisition of Sun Microsystems.

LibreOffice is a very fast install, and it has many improved features from its origins in OpenOffice.org. It supports the .Docx format which has become popular since Microsoft’s introduction of Office 2010, and it can also handle SVG graphics and a million rows of data in its spreadsheet application Calc.

With LibreOffice, it’s easy to open up the word processor and type away with the majority of features that Word has. However, the one downside is that it’s still not completely bug-free and it has the tendency to crash occasionally. But rest assured, that is only a minor annoyance because it does have autosave.

In the end, the pros outweigh the cons and the price is impossible to beat. It is hands down the best free office suite currently available and worth a try for anyone tired of paying hundreds of dollars for office software.

Cougar Mountain Software, a U.S. based accounting software company (based in Boise, ID), has recently introduced their latest product: Denali 3.0.

With this most recent release of the company’s accounting package, you will find many of the modules you are familiar with in their Denali line, which includes everything from Accounts Payable and Receivable to Purchase Order and Sales. In addition to the classic package, you will find a new, more streamlined interface. Similar to Microsoft Outlook in overall design, the navigation pane in each module presents users with an easier way to find and carry out their most commonly performed tasks. To stay loyal to veteran users, Denali has an option that allows users to work in the old interface, if desired. The product is easy to use and complete for small to medium sized businesses. The documentation is thorough, and provides new and old users alike with an easy way to familiarize themselves with the nuances of the software. Overall, this product is a great accounting solution that can compete with Sage and Peachtree as a leading accounting package for modestly sized industries.