Dude, where's my (open) workbench?

Yes, it's here.

A couple of other places to look for some background sorta stuff might be:

Wikipedia: Open Workbench
Comparing open workbench with microsoft project
Another comparison perhaps

Hannah says decompiling flash files is fun...

So, let's say your Flash file is corrupt, but you do still have the swf file.

Now, I know what you're thinking. What kind of doofus doesn't keep a back up of their flash file each time they save it eh? Hmm...

Anyway - it is possible to recover some of the fla - maybe not the Action Script, but at least some of the other bits and pieces.

Hannah says she knows someone who knows someone who used the SWF Decompiler from SourceTec software in the free 30 day trial mode. If you pay it might even be able to get he action script for you (apparently - I know nothing about whether this is true, and neither does Hannah).

Hannah says always keep a backup of your fla files. Hannah also says crumbs DM...

Free antivirus

Someone, let's call her "Hayley", asked about free antivirus software.

Well, as you might have read there are a whole bunch of "dodgy" free antivirus software around. So, as always, be careful what you're downloading!

What is certain, though, is that you need antivirus software and you need to keep it up to date. But you also need to take a lot of care where you go on the internet and what you do there.

A couple of half decent free resources, then would be:

AVG Free or Avast.

I've used both and they're both OK. If you really get a real problem then Sophos has a free 30 day trial. It's expensive to sign up for the full version, but if you need to get out of a problem then Sophos might be the cure if nothing else is working.

Of course, you'll also need to make sure to check for spyware, malware and all the other nasties.

Free Software #1 - Audacity

Audacity is a a really quite fuggly piece of software that you can use to make and edit sound files.

It's cool for lots of stuff - voice recording, editing a long recording into a bunch of sections and sampling a ring tone for example. You can also use it to record direct from your computer - so, say, you had a radio programme that you couldn't download...

You can download the latest version of this little beast from the Audacity site. It's not a big download and it's pretty stable and simple enough to use - stick a comment on this if you want to check something. You might need to get your hands on a mic if you want to dub your voice onto some sound, but they're pretty cheap to get hold of.

Look, the basic buttons look just like an old fashioned tape recorder. Even oldsters like me can work our way around that!

I'd start by getting an mp3 track (or whatever - it'll deal with lots of formats) into the software and start to play around with the various editing tools. Highlight some of the sound and see what you can do. The Effects menu is quite funky, but also try cutting the file around.

Then see if you can add two tracks at once. You might even be able to mix them into each other if you play around enough - the Audacity site has a pretty sound (ha ha...) set of help files and tutorials that should help you along with anything you get hideously stuck on.

The whole thing is easy enough to use. Just highlight want you want to edit and edit away.

The one issue you might have is being able to record your voice easily. Try Edit > Preferences and change the recording device to whatever's on the bottom. That might work.

I don't remember if you need to then change it back to something else to record sound from your soundcard. Try it and see!

Free, fuggly and funky. What more could you want?