Over the years, I’ve come to rely on several programs for my home computing needs. Many of these programs are free. Some are restricted to home, non-commercial use and I’ve noted that where applicable. Here are some of my favorites:

Web Browsers:
Opera – I’ve used Opera as my preferred web browser since the version 5 days. I still use it as my primary browser because it has features that others don’t such as the ability to zoom a web page. The new version 8.0 is coming out soon. I use the free version of Opera which has a small ad box on the tool bar. The interesting this is, I’ve actually found that the Google ads in the ad box are handy. I’ve not only clicked them, but bought items from them. As you browse, Google serves up ads based on the content of the page you are viewing. Download from Opera.

FireFox – For those that don’t want an ad supported program, this browser is the way to go. I miss the zoom ability of Opera but perhaps a plug-in will add this feature soon. FireFox is the open source successor of the old Netscape browser. For sites that don’t render well in Opera, I drop back to FireFox. You can’t go wrong with either browser and if I were leaving IE today, I’d probably go with FireFox. Download from Get FireFox.

Email:
Thunderbird – We’ve almost all either gotten viruses through OutLook or been spammed by people who have been infected by spambots. I’ve finally given up the relatively dangerous and unfeatureful OutLook and OutLook Express for Thunderbird. It’s from the same initiative as FireFox. Even though Opera has a built in email client, I prefer Thunderbird. Like Opera, it includes a spam filter. It also lets you block images. I’ve only used it for a couple of weeks, but it’s great so far. Download from Get Thunderbird.

Media Players:
WinAmp – I use the free version of WinAmp. It’s a product with a long history and it just gets better. Sometimes, I still have to drop back to Windows Media Player, but as WinAmp continues to improve, I am doing so less and less. I’ve been writing my own MP3 player, but new features in WinAmp may make my version entirely obsolete once I figure out how to use them. Download from WinAmp.

IfranView – This freeware allows you to display images and even edit them in addition to being a media player. I’ve only just started using this program, so I can’t say much other than give it a try. The word Ifran is the name of the developer. This is free for home, non-commerical use as well as educational use. Download from IfranView.

Audio Extraction:
AudioGrabber – As of version 1.83, this is now freeware after being shareware for a long time. If you’ve ever used AudioCatalyst, this the basically the same program, only better. I’ve heard of people having trouble doing digital extraction with AudioCatalyst, but AudioGrabber works great. I have over a hundred audio CDs I’ve purchased over the years. Many of them have only a few songs I like. Rather than mess around with my Sony 300 CD changer, it’s easier to just rip the songs I like to MP3 and play them on my computer. AudioGrabber uses FreeDB to get the song titles automatically. You may use any number of MP3 encoders with AudioGrabber. I prefer the Blade encoder myself as it’s faster than Lame in my experience, though Lame offers variable bit rate. Either will work fine. Download AudioGrabber. There are links on the site for the MP3 encoders.

Anti-virus:
Grisoft Free AVG – They have a free version for home use. The virus signatures are updated quite regularly and the product itself just moved to version 7. It can also scan any pop3 email, so it works with Thunderbird and Opera’s integrated email. While Norton and MacAfee try to outdo each other on finding new ways to screw customers, it’s nice to see a company offering a free alternative. It’s also easy to install and very lightweight compared to Norton and others. Download from Grisoft.

Zip File Manager:
Zip Central – While most people cheat and use WinZip without paying for it, Zip Central is a guilt-free alternative. It’s not been updated in a couple of years, but it still works. I like it almost as much as WinZip. It’s for download from http://zipcentral.iscool.net/.

Firewall:
ZoneAlarm – I have a hardware firewall now, but I used to use the free version of this product. A must have if you don’t have hardware firewalls on your cable/DSL attached home PC. Get it from Zone Labs.

Productivity Software:
OpenOffice – Tired of MicroSoft’s bloatware Office products? Tired of endless upgrade fees? Switch to OpenOffice. Includes: Writer (replaces Word), Calc (replaces Excel), Impress (replaces PowerPoint), Draw (replaces Visio), and database tools. Reads and writes most MS Office file formats. I’ve played around with it and it works pretty well. Get it from OpenOffice.org.

Got other software I should add to the list? Just post a comment.