Top 5 Free Software You Should Be Using

Posted by Kyle Eslick on May 9th, 2007 | Category and Tags

This post is being written as part of Darren Rowse’s “Top 5″ Group Writing Project.

There are many ways I could go about creating this Top 5 list, but few would pertain to everyone. Some of my readers don’t have Wordpress, others don’t have blogs or websites, and some even still use Internet Explorer. *gasp*

There is, however, one topic that is going to be useful to anyone with a computer, and that topic is free software. No matter whether your allegiance is to Microsoft or Apple, no matter what language you speak, or what kind of music you prefer. Everyone that has a computer can find a use for free software, and there is an abundance of great software available at no cost to the user, many of which is open source.

It was extremely difficult, but I was able to narrow my list down to the top 5 free software currently available:

  1. Firefox – What Firefox offers is a more secure web browser that can be customized to fit every unique individuals needs using the themes and extensions created by its users. With the power of the open source community behind it, Firefox will likely remain ahead of its competitors going forward, which will allow them to boast a safer and better browsing experience.
  2. Avast – In an era where having a good anti-virus is extremely important to a computers survival, Avast outshines its competitors, offering a free anti-virus software for non-commercial use. Not only is this my anti-virus software of choice among the freeware available, I also use it over Norton, McAfee, or any other software that requires purchase. (Note: Requires re-reregistration each year)
  3. OpenOffice – As the open source community continues to grow, so does this free office suite. With continued support from the open source community, I believe this will eventually rival Microsoft Office. In the meantime, this is a great alternative for people that can’t afford the Microsoft Office suite.
  4. Foxit Reader – Many people complain about the speed of their computer. This can often be attributed to software slowing your computer down. The two biggest culprits are Norton Anti-virus (alternative above!) and Adobe Reader. Foxit Reader is a very capable replacement that does not use many system resources while offering you all the functionality of Abobe’s PDF Reader.
  5. Thunderbird – Another software by Mozilla makes the list. This desktop e-mail client offers most of the functionality of Microsoft Outlook, including support for POP3 and IMAP. Like Firefox, it can also be customized to your needs via Thunderbird’s numerous extensions.

A quick honorable mention goes to the GIMP, which is a excellent open source digital image editor. This software serves as a great alternative to Adobe’s Photoshop, which would require the average user to take out a second mortgage on their home to purchase.

So, there you have it. If you don’t use these 5 above, there has never been a better time to start. Their influence over the internet will continue to expand over the coming years, so I recommend getting on board now.

What are your top 5?

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  1. Comment by bizz on May 9th, 2007:

    i think you could add calgoo (www.calgoo.com) to the honorable mentions category. it allowed me to get all my calendaring info off of outlook so i could use google cal exclusively – and thus free myself from exchange. its a beta product so its a little buggy – and its not the prettiest program out there (reminds me of the 70’s some times) but its free and it generally works.

    bizz

  2. Comment by Andy on May 9th, 2007:

    I’ll check out Foxit Reader :) and Kyle, have you heard of AVG (free antivirus)? I have choose it over Avast but I have never tried it.

  3. Comment by Kyle Eslick on May 9th, 2007:

    Bizz – Calgoo is great! I find it definitely useful, but I’m not sure its quite as useful as the 5 above (especially since only a small portion of people use web-based calendar services). Great suggestion though, its always good to start up a discussion.

    Andy – Yes, I installed AVG on one of my desktops and ran it for a few weeks, but was not happy with it. Avast updates regularly and seems to be preferred by most that have tried both, including myself. The only downside is you have to register every so often (once a year maybe?), but its worth it in my opinion.

  4. Comment by Conficio on May 9th, 2007:

    I’ll add my five:
    Firefox, OpenOffice.org, Thunderbird, Windows SSH, and Eclipse.

    I use Eclipse for web development, not just Java. It has evolved to so much more than a Java IDE.

    K<o>
    Busy, providing technical support for non technical users of OpenOffice

  5. Comment by Solveig Haugland on May 9th, 2007:

    I just want to emphasize that OpenOffice.org contains Draw, which can be used as an alternative for at least parts of:
    - Illustrator
    - Gimp (when vector can be used and raster editing isn’t needed)
    - Visio (Draw has the connector lines that are so useful for diagrams, plus a gallery to which you can add reusable shapes)
    - Publisher (though if you need text flow and wrapping text around graphics, you’d use the Frame tool in Writer)

    And, of course, OpenOffice.org contains the ability to create PDFs with lots of options for compression and security.

  6. Comment by Madhur Kapoor on May 9th, 2007:

    Nice list Kyle . I am going to try out Foxit reader .

  7. Comment by Andy on May 9th, 2007:

    Thanks Kyle! I’m going to give Avast a shot for sure! :)

  8. Comment by Mjuboy on May 10th, 2007:

    Just got Thunderbird, its great!

  9. Comment by Ali on May 10th, 2007:

    I use firefox and thunderbird. My antivirus, f-secure, is free from my ISP and I have been thinking of trying out OpenOffice for a long time now.

    Great read, check out my Top 5 entry for the project. Have a good one!

  10. Comment by charlie on May 10th, 2007:

    I am tech challenged so your list is very helpful to me. Thanks

  11. Comment by John on May 10th, 2007:

    My top five would be pretty much the same, though I might leave off avast and substitute GIMP. And I find myself using AbiWord for word processing more than OpenOffice.

  12. Comment by Basil Vandegriend on May 10th, 2007:

    Nice list. I use most of the software you listed, except for Avast, which I may just check out as I have been dissatisfied with McAfee. I also use Paint.Net rather than GIMP.

    Check out my Problogger submission: Top Five Essential Practices for Developing Software

  13. Comment by Locke Konos on May 21st, 2007:

    Nooo, not Avast, ClamWin!!
    ClamWin detects something like 25% more viruses and malware than Avast, and is much less bulky and slow. Try it out, it’s totally free and really great!
    http://www.clamwin.com

  14. Comment by Kyle Eslick on May 21st, 2007:

    Locke,

    Thanks for the heads up! I can see you are very passionate about it!

    I feel Avast is very light weight and fast, but I’ll admit I haven’t tried Clamwin yet. I will have to test it in the near future!

  15. Comment by Art of Seduction on June 30th, 2007:

    The only ones I am actively using is firefox and avast. Also I have open office but I don’t use it at mo. Only installed it because it can convert pdf files from doc. I have not used thunderbird or foxit. Will try foxit because adobe reader is damn slow

  16. Comment by Ryan Wagner on July 18th, 2007:

    I saw some mention here in the comments of people trying Foxit for the first time. I always think that it is funny how many people have never used it, but once they give it a shot they don’t know why Adobe Acrobat even exists. I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone say “this sucks, I’m going back to Adobe” after trying Foxit.

  17. Comment by descargar ares gratis on September 18th, 2007:

    i only use in this list the firefox, cause its the best web browser, but my antivirus is the nod 32. But its not free, so maybe ill change to avast.

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