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Lee Besing Just the Other Day
by Lee Besing
Bargain Software
April, 2003

Just the other day, I was visiting my favorite ice cream shop (Brindles Ice Cream) over on Huebner at Huebner Oaks  and noticed the bookstore next door called 'Half Price Books'.  They have several locations around San Antonio and elsewhere in Texas.   You may be asking what does a book store have to do with your normal style of articles?  The answer of course is that they had software for half price or less. Usually for much more (less) than half price off the original price.  I found sealed copies of recent McAfee Anti-Virus and Norton Anti-Virus or System Works.  Well, okay, they were the 1 year old versions, but still upgradeable when you register them on the web.  But could you buy those elsewhere for under $10 each?  Well, maybe the Deals Guy might come up with a better deal in his column, but I found some real bargains sitting here in San Antonio under my own nose, so to speak.

I found a program to help write wills that only cost $4.95. No, I’m not planning on needing one soon, but that is the point of making one.  I figure the software might be a year or two out of date, but for $4.95 instead of $49.95, I was willing to take that chance. After all, the process of creating a last will and testament hasn’t changed that much in recent years that I have become aware of, unlike the computer that I’m writing this column with.

I found software to edit videos with, or create your own movies, assuming you had the video capture card in your computer and sufficient computer horsepower under the hood to handle the requirements. I found translating software, typing tutor software from Mavis Beacon, resume writing software, lots of utilities, original copies of various versions of Microsoft Office or Windows. If you aren't needing the software, how about the manuals for your software? They’ve got lots of computer manuals for all sorts of programs including the famous for Dummies series of books.  And they also had stuff for Linux and Macintosh computer systems as well.     

You will just simply have to make your own expedition to visit this store, or another one, to see what other bargains might be awaiting your discovery.  So if you are still waiting for a good bargain on anti-virus software, and haven't had to call me to come clean viruses out of your computer yet, you might want to rush right on out to the nearest used book store and snap up a copy of their anti-virus software before they run out. 


Lee Besing is the owner of Computer Solution Experts, a consulting firm that provides on-site service and support for PC computers and networks.