I am on ZDNet's mailing list and get an email compiled of their latest articles and updates every so often. One article that caught my eye was their list of "Seven great (and free!) applications for Windows 7." Truthfully, I wondered why it was necessary to include Windows 7 in the title. There wasn't anything on the list that you could not run in Windows XP. And, ironically, most of these programs are coming from open source operating systems like Linux. Why pay for software?
I have found it helpful to see what programs people use to accomplish their work. It gives you an insight to examine the alternatives and decide for yourself if there might be a better way that you simply did not know about before.
I actually found the list of 30 that Trent Hamm, from The Simple Dollar, compiled way back in 2006 to be quite useful. He has since updated it to include a list of 25 for Mac users and recently included an updated list of his nine most commonly used pieces of free software.
I have used a lot of open source software and think that is great. Firefox is the first thing I install on a new machine. I actually still use Microsoft Office - but that is only because I am able to purchase it through enormous company discounts. Otherwise, I would always use OpenOffice. I also use CutePDF and my wife plays around with GIMP to do serious photo editing.
What are your favorite free applications that you use?
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