A computer without commercial software? It’s possible.
Productivity Software
Open Office 
Does everything Microsoft Office does (and more) but it’s open source, cross-platform, and free. Reads and writes Office file types.
Stickies
Sticky note addicts – rejoice! This sweet program puts sticky notes all over your desktops. Style ‘em, set audible alarms, resize ‘em, attach ‘em to a website or document, hide ‘em . . . shucks, play all day with your cool stick notes. Doesn’t mess with system files or write to the registry. Windows only.
RSS
RSSOwl
RSSOwl is a free newsreader. It resides on your computer (as opposed to an online reader, like Google Reader, my other favorite). Different layouts, lots of search options, the ability to access password protected newsfeeds, simplicity, and the fact that it’s platform independent make this my top choice for offline newsreaders.
FeedDemon
If you want features (as opposed to elegant simplicity), FeedDemon is for you. It integrates with NewsGator and synchronizes with Bloglines, so it’s a combination of a desktop reader and an online reader. Somewhat complex, so there’s a slight learning curve. A nice offering for Windows only.
PDF Reading / Writing
Foxit Reader
Foxit Reader displays PDF documents . . . fast. It’s free, runs on Windows or Linux, and also on mobile devices running Windows Mobile or Linux.
Bullzip
Bullzip allows you to create PDF files – for free. Has more features than PDFCreator (another alternative), and works on 64-bit systems. Windows only.
Photo Organization Software
Picasa
An amazing piece of software that runs on Windows, Linux, or Mac OS. Automatically organizes all your pictures (and all other graphic files, if you wish). Performs a variety of fairly advanced picture edits. Easy enough for Grandma to figure out (ask my mom).
Photo Editing Software
GIMP
Complicated, but full-featured image manipulation software. Cross-platform, open source and free. Many use it as a free alternative to Photoshop. It’s the most powerful free image manipulation program out there.
Paint.NET
Not as impressive as the GIMP, but still a very powerful photo editing program. It’s quite a bit easier for non-technical people like myself to figure out. Windows only.
PhotoFiltre
Less powerful than the GIMP or Paint.NET (doesn’t support layers, for instance), but ultimately much easier to figure out. Think of it as a mega-filter (filtre?) program (lots of easy to use effects). A very nice, solid program. I often use it for it’s sweet text effects. Runs on Windows.
cam2pc
Not a strong contender, but I use it for transferring my pictures from my Canon G9 to my computer. Its lossless auto-rotation and renaming functions work better than Picasa’s (sorry, Picasa).
Computer Security
AVG Free
You won’t need another virus protection program. AVG is that good. I’ve been virus-free for the last five years. Windows only.
avast!
avast! comes with real-time antispyware protection, rootkit detection, and email scanning, and is, therefore, the most full-featured free antivirus program available. It’s stable and light on system resources. However, it returns a fairly high rate of false positives and requires periodic re-registration whereas AVG does not. Windows only.
Windows Defender
Again, Windows Defender is (obviously) only for Windows users, but it’s powerful, effective, and provides real-time protection and automatic updates. Set it and forget it. Most other operating systems aren’t crippled by spyware anyway.
SuperAntiSpyware
SuperAntiSpyware is my top choice for spyware detection. It lacks real-time protection, however, so I’ll stick with Windows Defender. This one’s good as an “on demand” scanner. Windows only.
Ad-Aware
One of the original (and still very good) anti-spyware programs. Use it to clean up after yourself (or you can just use Firefox and forget you installed Ad-Aware). Real-time protection requires the pro version. For Windows.
KeePass
Keep all your passwords safe. Can be installed or run as a portable app (download the zip package). Open source, cross-platform.
Registry Cleaning / Optimization / Backup
EasyCleaner
EasyCleaner cleans your registry. Simple. Typically won’t cause any problems. Registry cleaners are well known for “breaking” your computer so you might want to avoid them altogether. This one, though, should be safe. Do the benefits outweigh the risks? I think so.
Eusing Free Registry Cleaner
This one’s also pretty safe, but lacks some features of EasyCleaner.
ERUNT
I couldn’t live without this one. Back up your entire registry to a folder of your choice. Turn off System Restore. I also use it as a program uninstaller. Backup your registry quickly then install your program. If you hate the program, uninstall it and restore your registry for a complete uninstall!
NTRegOpt
Optimize and compact your registry.
Disc Cleanup
CCleaner
CCleaner will clean up your IE, Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, Safari, Windows, registry, and 3′d party app messes! Wow. All in one nice, clean, free package. Windows only, dang it! Oh, and please don’t install the Yahoo! toolbar. Read the prompts.
Eraser
Another cleanup / privacy program. This one could destroy your computer, so please be careful with it. Even Obama couldn’t recover data erased with this program. I think it’s called “secure file deletion.” Erase single files, folders, or obliterate your entire hard drive. Open source. Windows only. Free.
PC Decrapifier
This one “decrapifies” new PCs. You know all that junk that comes pre-installed? This little beauty will uninstall them all with the click of a button. You have complete control over what gets uninstalled. Nice.
Image Viewers
Irfanview
Sort of boring, but still really cool. It’s good for lossless cropping, batch editing, viewing most file types, and lots more. Don’t forget the plugins (for essential extended functionality). Windows only.
Faststone Image Viewer
I can’t let Irfanview have all the glory. This program’s pretty sweet, too. I really like the cool frame masks you can create. Windows only.
XnView
This one supports over 400 different file types and it runs on pretty much any operating system. Nice.
Browsing & Email
Firefox
Please forgive me, but only brainless people don’t know about this one. Avoid spyware and personalize your Internet experience with endless add-ons. Cross-platform, open source, and free.
Thunderbird
Mozilla’s free email client for Windows, Mac OS, or Linux.
MozBackup
Back up your Firefox and Thunderbird profiles with ease. Runs on Windows only.
Google Chrome
Surf faster with Google Chrome. Really. This browser is super cool, but not so easily personalized as Firefox. Windows only.
Communication
Skype
Call other Skype users for free. Voice and video chats supported. I’ve tried all the free IM services; Skype beats them all handily, with the best voice and video quality. Call landlines for a minimal fee. Can be run on multiple platforms.
Pidgin
Pidgin is cool, I guess, if you’re still into instant messaging. Its strength is universality. You can connect up with buddies using Yahoo!, AIM, Google Talk, ICQ, IRC, MSN, Skype, MySpaceIM . . . shall I go on? O.K., SILC, XMPP, QQ . . . I think you get the point. No voice or video support. Lame. Open source.
Money Management
GnuCash
Complicated but extremely capable. If you need double entry accounting, GnuCash can handle it. Cross-platform, open source, and, obviously, free.
Homebank
Less complicated than GnuCash, but plenty of accounting power for the average user. If you’re looking for simplicity and ease of use, this is the route to take. Double entry accounting isn’t supported. Sketchy documentation. Open source, cross-platform – and you know what that means. It’s free.
Video Editing / Playback
Virtualdub
Play around with this program a while and you’ll love it. Play around with it for just a few minutes and you’ll hate it. It’s very good for basic video editing and supports a wide variety of third party filters (look on google). Open source. Windows only.
Avidemux
Open source, cross-platform. Avidemux supports an impressively large list of codecs (audio and video) and they’re all built in. Conversely, Virtualdub is primarily a Vfw (Microsoft Video for Windows) trasncoding tool. Open source codec projects are still widely available as Vfw codecs, but this may not continue into the future (e.g., h264), as Microsoft no longer supports Vfw. Thus, Avidemux may be a preferable option moving into the future.
VLC
VLC (VideoLAN Client) is an open source, cross-platform media player. It plays most every video file out there, including DVDs. All codecs come bundled with the program, so it stands alone without additional codec downloads and installations. You no longer need Cyberlink or any other bloated DVD decoder. Give it a try. You’ll be impressed.
MPlayer
More intuitive controls than VLC, but video playback isn’t as good.
Aegisub
I don’t know how this program works (at all) but I have discovered how to make subtitles for videos (using it in combination with Virtualdub). If you download it, know that you’re going to become very confused. You can check out my mini-tutorial for making subtitles.
Handbrake
Rip DVD’s, backup your movie collection, convert video files . . . cool. Open source, cross-platform, and free.
SUPER
SUPER will convert most any multimedia file. Quite impressive in spite of its clunky interface.
Bible Study
e-Sword
E-Sword wins my award for the best free program ever, even though it’s only been developed for Windows (sorry everyone else). Tons of add-ons make this the most complete, full-featured Bible software available anywhere. Thanks to Rick Meyers for his hours of countless work putting this excellent piece of software together.
DAVAR3
DAVAR3 focuses more on the original languages (Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin). Serious Bible students – go ahead and leap for joy. I haven’t tried this program so can’t say much about it.
Notepad Replacements
PSPad
PSPad is so much more than a Notepad replacement. Useful if you work in various programming environments. Windows only.
Notepad++
Another full-featured notepad replacement. From what I’ve heard and what I’ve read, it’s comparable to PSPad, but I’ve never actually tried it. This one’s open source, so that’s a major plus.
FTP
FileZilla
Sure, lots of free FTP clients exist, but FileZilla is open source, free, cross-platform (have I said this before?) and does what it’s supposed to do quite well. It can be installed or run as a portable application. It can run as a client or server.
WinSCP
FTP client for Windows. Personally, I use FileZilla, but people like options.
Cyberduck
Cyberduck’s simplicity and seamless integration with other Mac programs makes it an ideal choice for Mac users.
Audio Playback / Editing
Audacity
You can record and edit sounds with this! I use it for editing songs to add to videos. Make ringtones, remove vocals, create podcasts . . . the possibilities are endless.
Windows Media Player
If you’re addicted to Microsoft products, download this media player. Why do I include it on this list? Frankly, it’s full-featured and works well.
Winamp
Winamp is alright. It’s less annoying the Windows Media Player. Personally I use VLC for most all media files.
Media Player Classic
For audio, this one’s really cool. No installation required, and it looks cool, too (like the old Windows Media Player). A very capable media player.
Zip / Unzip
FreeZip
FreeZip zips and unzips files. Simple. No extracting or other confusing things to deal with. Tiny file size. Zip. Unzip. It’s the only zip utility I’ve used on my computers for the last five years.
7-Zip
If you want a few more features and options, then try 7-Zip. It supports a few more file types than FreeZip, so . . . it’s your choice.
CD / DVD Burning
ImgBurn
ImgBurn will burn Blu-ray discs, CDs, DVDs . . . it does it all.
CDBurnerXP
Can’t handle double layer DVDs, but easier to use than ImgBurn.
Uninstalling
MyUninstaller
Replaces Windows native uninstall applet (which really sucks). Gives you more details and much more control over the uninstallation process.
Revo Uninstaller
Revo Uninstaller works in a different way. It scans your system and simulates a manual uninstall – removing files, folders, and registry entries. It’ll take care of broken installations as well. Designed for Windows.
Desktop Search
Agent Ransack
Find files and folders on your computer quickly (much more quickly than the standard Windows search utility). Allows use of regular expressions (whatever those are) for complex searches.
Miscellaneous
Pivot Stickfigure Animator
The one’s a complete time waster, but it’s fun and can be slightly addictive.
SIW
What do you want to know about your system? This little beauty will tell you everything (really . . . everything).
nice list of freebies. I think Winamp sucks though – why in the world did you include it?
I hadn’t tried Pivot Stickfigure. What a massive time-waster – but fun & addictive.
FreeZip , FTP client for Windows and Revo Uninstaller will surely helps me , thanks for sharing dude
avidemux better than virtualdub
worse interface but at least it works with h264
vfw is dying – kiss it goodbye
I will add avidemux to the list. I agree with you, at least to an extent. I’ve been thinking of trying this program soon. It WAS hard to get virtualdub to work with the x264 codec because virtualdub is a VFW (Microsoft Video For Windows) capture, transcoding and editing tool. And Microsoft has abandoned VFW in favor of DirectShow.
Avidemux has support for this codec and lots more built right in.
But if you want to use virtualdub with the x264 codec, use this one here . . . that’s what I’m using currently and it works like a charm.
Under your Notepad Replacements, you should add NotepadPlusPlus (aka NPP, N++). Awesome utility…multi-tab, recognizes multiple programming languages (some have format suggestions), plugins, and more!
Under your Anti-Virus, you should add Avast! a/v. They have a free version that’s just a single computer version of their paid/network version. Catches things that AVG doesn’t (friends have told me this for their personal experiences). Downside: some false positives.
Thanks for the heads-up, Matt. I’ll be adding Notepad++ to the list. Avast is a good choice for antivirus as well. I’ll add it, but I have to say, I’ve never tried it. AVG has served me well over the years.
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