There are only a few programs listed that were also listed in our previous post Crucial Mac Software…College Edition. But this list is better, because it’s more complete, and they’re all free!

Link (OpenSourceMac.org)

Link (Courtesy of ISmashPhone.com)

Getting out of cell phone contracts can be a nightmare. If you’re going to face the beast head on, you’re going to need a plan. It’s not a small undertaking, and you’ll meet hostile resistance every step of the way. But it is possible. Ely Rosentock made the above video laying out every argument they’ll use against you and every counterargument you should use to refute it. It’s essentially a guide to refuting their script, and… it’s awesome. He discusses Verizon specifically, but it should apply to all the carriers. So, go on and have fun breaking free.

And give ‘em the bird for me on your way out the door.

1. Making Friends - Stop! I know what you’re thinking. I’m not talking about “buying friends”. I’m talking about making friends. First, I will admit that the Greek system has some real douche bags in it. But, that is the exception to the rule. The truth is the Greek system is full of super cool, very bright, people that you wouldn’t have thought to make friends with before, and are the kind of people that you will want to know into the future. Yes, the system is made to create friendships. What the hell’s so wrong with that? What, you don’t like friends?
2. Parties - You can either walk around campus for a few hours looking for parties on the weekends, or you can count on a guaranteed party. For those of you who are not in a fraternity, if you say that you’re spending your weekends partying as much as you really want to be, and you’re meeting as many girls as you’d really like to be, you are liars. You’re playing XBox at home in your basketball shorts and you know it.
3. Networks - What’s the old adage? “It’s not what you know, but who you know” This is a fact, and no matter how much it sucks to admit it, it’s true. So embrace this idea as soon as you possibly can and you can thank me later when you actually realize that it’s true. If you want to build up your network after school, it can still be done. But, watch out. It’ll take a few years to really do so (hmmmm…. a college education takes a few years. Hey! Maybe you can build that future network up at the same time as you’re going to school and dicking around.)
4. Opportunities - I’m talking about all sorts of opportunities: job opportunities, community service opportunities, pranking opportunities, political involvement opportunities, dating opportunities, tailgaiting opportunities, entrepreneurial opportunities, etc. Whatever your interests are, there’s more likely than not a few other people that will do it with you, and more likely to be quality opportunities as well.
5. Chicks/Dudes - I’d much rather meet like 40 girls in one night through activities in the Greek system, than maaayyyybbeeee meeting 3-4 girls in the coffee bar.

Did you know that you can create ringtones for free, without Garage Band or any other third-party software? In a nutshell, it goes like this: Use the start-stop time feature in the audio file’s “Get Info” area, cut the track down to the specific 30 seconds you desire. After that, convert the clip to AAC, drop it on your desktop, delete the file from iTunes, change the extension to .m4a or m4r, and finally drop it back into iTunes.

Whew! Now that’s not very hard, but there are more steps than I like. But, hey, it’s free my cheap collegiate friends. It’s free!

Link (TheAppleBlog.com)

If you’re in a band, then listen up. You’ve gotta do something more than playing at your local bar if you really want to go anywhere as a band. One of the first things you need to do is create a site for the band, where your fans can learn more about you and your music, find out about upcoming gigs, buy tshirts & CDs, and whatever else you can think of.

Well, check this out. For $30, you can buy a customizable web template that lets you do all of the above. Just write a little bit about yourselves, and put in some pictures. It really is easy to customize, but if you don’t want to even attempt to do it, ask some of your friends, and you’re bound to find somebody that can help you out.

Band Website Template

Who doesn’t know a friend, coworker, or family member that at some point has lost their phones, or damaged their phones, or done something to permanently lose all of the names & phone numbers stored in their phones? Sure, it doesn’t happen often, but it happens.

Zyb is one of the coolest apps for cellphones around. The award winning services allows you to sync and backup all of your contacts so that you will never lose your precious list of names & numbers. And it’s free.

Consider your contacts in your phone officially party proof.

Oh yes! The Textbook Torrents tracker is considered to be the largest library of textbooks on BitTorrent. This is an idea that has LONG been needed by students everywhere. Check them out to see if any of the textbooks you need this semester are available.

To make the deal even sweeter, take a look at our post that lists the Five Best Note Taking Tools so that you’ll have a way to refer back to important text when it comes time to study for your exams.

Macs have become a must-have student supply. And though we don’t want to admit it, most of us bought one either because it seemed like the perfect accessory to our iPods, or because every computer shown on television or in movies are Macs (but we’re not affected by product placement, are we?).

Fortunately, they also happen to be great computers. So, let’s make our Macs even better than the way they come out of the box. Here is a list of crucial Mac software, that every student can appreciate.

Link