I promised I’d do it, so here I go. Of course, everyone will probably disagree with this list. But for me, these programs have proven highly useful and reliable. They’ve been tested thoroughly, used daily, and have consistently performed as well as any commercial programs. Blah, blah, blah. Let’s get on with it.

1. E-sword
   If you like to study the Bible and don’t have a fat budget (or do have a fat budget), this program’s for you. E-sword absolutely blows me away with its plethora of features, options, and add-ons. Some things you won’t find even in commercial products such as extended search, Bible reading plan, daily devotions, Scripture memory tool . . .

   This program wins my #1 spot not only because of its quality and features, but because it’s a tool for spreading the good news of Jesus Christ to anyone . . . and it’s completely and 100% free.

2. Open Office
   Open Office comes complete with word processing, spreadsheet, drawing, database, presentation, and math (formula editing) software. It’s fully compatible with Microsoft Office, cross-platform (yes, Linux and Mac users – you may rejoice), has saved me hundreds of dollars and allowed me to avoid giving Microsoft any more of my money. And, of course, it’s 100% free. There are also add-ons available for this program. For all this, Open Office wins my #2 spot.
3. AVG Antivirus
   There are many free anti-virus programs out there, but none have performed for me as flawlessly as AVG Antivirus. I’ve tried them all. AVG takes up very little system resources (compared to its nasty competitors . . . um, I won’t mention any names, but the nastiest starts with an “N”), performs all essential functions automatically (amazing for a free program), integrates seamlessly with Thunderbird (my email program of choice), and has a high detection rate. Does its rate compare with its commercial competitors? Yes. It may fall behind by a percentage or two, but for free, who can complain? I’ve been virus-free for over three years. Thanks AVG. I give AVG my #3 spot.
4. Mozilla Firefox
   Firefox has allowed me to dump Internet Explorer, and, therefore, spyware. Since installing Firefox (years ago) I’ve had almost no spyware. Every scan results in zero results, minus a tracking cookie or two. Also, thousands of add-ons make your surfing experience yours. Check out my favorite extensions. When I’m on the computer, I’m usually on the Internet, and subsequently, I’m using Firefox. It’s fast, customizable, and has allowed me to personalize my browsing experience. It’s also available for Linux and Mac users. Mozilla Firefox takes my #4 spot.
5. Picasa
   For a long time, I had a hard time organizing my photos. Manipulating photos seemed arduous. Open this program, open the photo, manipulate it (after figuring out how), save it, decide whether to over-write it or have two copies of it, where to save it . . . Then when emailing photos, I had to find the photo, re-size it, save it (in some organized fashion), attach it, send it, decide whether to keep the resized photo . . . as you can see, dealing with digital photos left a bit to be desired. Now, I simply open Picasa and it organizes all my photos by date (automatically); I can edit and manipulate photos within the program (and it’s so easy my baby could do it), and all edits are un-doable. In other words, I don’t have to figure out where to save photos and the original is never touched. I can email photos with the click of a button. All my photo woes are gone. I give Picasa my #5 spot.