If there's one writing delay I hate more than all others, it's sitting down to start working on a project, only to have my laptop go out of its little Intel-powered mind. I doubt Hemingway ever sat down at his typewriter, only to have the thing start rattling and shaking, setting off its little return bell every two seconds, and spitting sheets of paper up into the air. The worst he probably dealt with was a couple of jammed keys or a tangled ribbon (probably from trying to hammer out a few pages after slamming back some cold ones at the end of a day of fishing). Today's writer-type has all sorts of problems waiting for him. Last spring I sat down to add a couple commas and periods to a final draft of a manuscript, only to have my laptop begin starting and restarting and restarting again, until I had to pull the battery out of the thing and head down to the Apple store for help.

Now I've noticed a strange thing happening every time I try to open any programs I've used countless times before: They're all crashing on me! Word has crashed. Photoshop has crashed. Final Draft has crashed. These are programs that have not been reinstalled, or modified, or updated in anyway. They just suddenly decided that it's time to either shit the bed or check up on my registration info. Final Draft is the worst when it comes to this. That program is limited to only two machines, and by God if it doesn't make sure you cough up proof of purchase tabs if you so much as add the word "Mentos" to the spell check. I've gone through less rigorous security procedures while board cross country flights! The worst is when I go to reinstall the software, but find that my now aged machine doesn't even recognize the stuff! Infuriating!

You all know that software isn't cheap. Check out the prices for Word, Photoshop, and Final Draft if you wanna rupture an aorta.

Now check out some of the alternatives. Of course, for everything Microsoft turns out, there seems to be a free alternative from Google. Until that company turns out to be some sort of Terminator-like megaconglomerate, check out Google Docs for alternatives to all of the Microsoft Office patented family of rip-offs.

For Photoshop, the alternatives aren't quite so elegant, but they're out there. I've recently been playing with GIMP a bit (no wisecrack about that sentence). To be frank, I like the logo, but kinda hate the product. Still, it's a nice alternative when you can't quite see spending $1700 in today financial climate.

Finally, there's the product I wish I'd know about in college. Celtx is like a little angel sent down from heaven to help film students make movie magic. Available for Mac, Windows, Linux, and the Asus eeePC, this is the best free program I've found. Unlike Final Draft, who treat their customer's like thieves, demanding phone confirmation, online registration, and inner cheek swabs for every stage of installation, Celtx is free. Download it, install it, and it just works.

So where does this leave us? I like to think it's taking us back to where we started. Instead of the proper tools remaining securely in the hands of those who can afford them, all you need to make these programs work is talent. Check em out. Try Celtx first, like I said, that's my favorite.

Tags: Celtx, Final Draft, Microsoft Word, Google Docs, Asus, eeePC, Linux, Windows, Mentos