I’ve mentioned Google Pack before, but I’m going to recommend it again for those who missed it. Why? I love the software it offers. Some of it is useful, but some of it is just plain fun.

A free, six month subscription to Norton Antivirus falls under useful, certainly. If you don’t have an up to date antivirus running right now, this alone should be enough reason to download Google Pack this instant! Leaving your computer open to viruses is just dangerous to your computer. It also offers the free version of AdAware, which takes care of most of the spyware. Not all - no matter which antispyware you use, I recommend getting a second one to double check. None of them get all the spyware.

Google Earth is both fun and useful. Ariel, at 4 years old, already loves to look at different places with it. She has even learned to use the controls pretty well. This can be great if your kids are learning geography - they can see these places on more than a four color map. You can also show them places you are going to go on vacation - the Grand Canyon is really amazing on Google Earth, for example.

Picasa is a nice little photo organizer with some editing capabilities. Digital cameras are so common now I’m sure lots of you have pictures you could work on.

The one download I’ve always tended to skip is Google Desktop. It helps you find things on your computer, but I’ve just never needed help in that area. My computer is better organized than my paper files.

Google Talk looks fun, although I’ve never actually tried it. You can IM or talk to other people over your computer. It’s not a phone service, though.

If you like the way this sounds, you can see my link for it down on the left.