i wanna know what software, that is free, we should have on our microsoft computer!! things like alternatives to powerpoint (openoffice) etc.
post your opinions, and maybe even top 10 lists!

Hmm , there are enough free software programs to fill your needs for a lot of programs.
GIMP in stead of Photoshop / Paint Shop Pro
Openoffice in stead of microsoft office
Firefox in stead of internet explorer (mmh well.. IE is free..)
Thunderbird in stead of Microsoft Outlouk

Lots more :

ha ha once again, adobe acrobat reader... probably the most freebie needed once you are running your computer..claim me if you doubted, no obj!!

Yes Florisjuh has got it exactly right apart from the hmm after firefox, you may also wish to try Netscape..thats made by mizilla also...gimp 2.0 is very good

In my opinion there are a few programs/browser plug-ins you need for your computer.

1. Sun Java
2. Flash Player
3. Shockwave Player
4. Adobe Acrobat Reader
5. Spybot Search and Destroy
6. Quicktime Player
7. Firefox

Those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head I'm sure there are more. Also the plug-ins I listed are required for veiwing alot of internet media so you should get them.

What do you need on your computer, and it has to be free....

MSN Messenger
Maybe....Linux
Firefox
Total commander --->ftp issues
Azereus-->bittorent
Winamp-->mp3
BSPlayer-->divx/xvid player
FFDshow-->divx/xvid codec
AC3Filter-->AC3 plugin
TSW Webcoder -->HTML maker

Mine favorite

So many to chose from, so I'll just add on to those that have already been posted:
For FTP things I like Filezilla
I use PasswordSafe to store my passwords.
For older computers Firefox is way too big & heavy, so there you can (if you don't want to use IE), use K-Meleon, or the IE wrapper app called Maxthon.

I use AVG anti-virus, which is free, and so are the updates.

And I use a free version of Tiny Personal Firewall as my firewall.


Also, there are loads of neat little apps on TinyApps.

here is my list
MICROSOFT ANTISPY get it here here

ZONE ALARM get ithere


AVG7 antivirus get it here
KNOPPIX.....

( an entire operating system based on linux that runs from disk no install with open office built in and mozilla ) get it here 716mb so on dialup forget it but for an entire operating system thats free and can be used without installation just set to boot cdrom first and boot from the disk it installs to ram so when you reboot change back to boot hd and its gone

OPEN OFFICE for most operating systems (windows/linux/mac etc) full freeware office pack get it here

CDburnerXP freeware cd burning software like NERO get it here

DVDdecrypter for DVD ripping and burning (using iso mode you need nero installed) get it here

BURNATONCE for cd/dvd burning get it here
GIMP freeware image editing tool as used by theme creators here .. get it here

hmmmmm cannot think of anymore at the minute but theres loads out there

these are just a few

There's loads of programs out there for just about anything, and most of the programs I use are already listed on here, but heres a list:

Azureus For BitTorrent downloads

Spyware Blaster To prevent spyware from being installed onto your computer

AVG Anti-Virus For an A-V program

Quintessential CD Player [QCD Player] as an alternate media player. I prefer this program over all the others, becase it uses a very low amount of ram.

Daemon Tools To create back-up ISO's of your CD's and DVD's

What about MSN Messenger 7? It's great.
Umm, Firefox for sure. I also like Thunderbird better then Outlook too.