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Ubuntu Linux
Ubuntu 7.04 Quick Installer ^beta
Ubuntu 7.10 Quick Installer ^alpha

Installation Guide (7.10)

Ubuntu is, in my opinion, one of the better builds of Linux out there (for personal computers). It is pretty easy to find support for it online if you need it, although I doubt you will. The GUI is amazing and kills Windows. For example, you can have the windows bend as you drag them... and it has Workspaces... which is sorta like having multiple Computers at once... and being able to switch from them with just a single click. The quick installer will install Ubuntu so you can boot to it when you start the computer (choose between Ubuntu and your current OS)... It's pretty easy once you see it ^.^ If you would like to use 7.10 (rather than 7.04), try downloading the alpha installer... beware though, it is alpha software =-o It is working perfectly for me though ^.^


Open Office

This office suite is open source (anyone can see the source code and distribute it freely... and it's free Also, you can open Microsoft Office files with this (and save them in that format as well). I'm using it on my computer... so give it a shot. If you don't like it, uninstall it. Simple As that.


Firefox

A replacement for Internet Explorer. Firefox is more secure, faster, and allows skinning (you can download 'skins' to change the color and style of the browser window). It is also open source (see a pattern?) and is run by Mozilla (a wonderful organization).

Opera

Although I prefer Firefox, Opera is the next best choice in my opinion. It is in on the development of (X)HTML 5 along with Apple and Mozilla, so what's not to love? Try it out and make your decision. But for the sake of every web designer out there that conforms to web standards, don't use IE


GIMP ^{Windows Installer}

Ever want the functionality of Photoshop but could never afford it? Or maybe you're still using Microsoft Paint?! No need to worry! GIMP is here to save the day. It's a wonderful little program I came across when I installed Linux (pre-installed with Ubuntu). I haven't had a lot of time to play around with it, but when I have, it got the job done. I hope you all find as much success with it as I have!


Thunderbird

A replacement for Outlook Express... Finally! haha It's a decent mail program and I've used it on several occasions. I have since moved to Gmail though... for several reasons. I would never go back to Outlook though.


Notepad++

Tired of using plain old Notepad that is provided with Windows? Why not try out Notepad++? If you are a developer/designer, you will absolutely love this program. It has syntax highlighting for numerous languages as well as Syntax Folding (similar to a XML file without styling). The only drawback I have found so far is that there is not a way to Edit files via FTP without downloading/uploading (which I can do with my current program). Other than that, it's wonderful.


FireFTP

Since Notepad++ does not support FTP (unless an add-on has it), I decided to provide a FTP client. It is actually an add-on for Mozilla Firefox, but it still works great according to the reviews. As far as other free FTP clients go, this is one of the best. It opens the client in a new tab so no worrying about extra windows open.


Portable Apps

Want to take your favorite applications on the go? Check this out. You can have your favorite programs (firefox for example) on a removable drive (flash drive maybe) and use it on most Windows computers. Enjoy


Enjoy! If you have any other requests for open source or non-Microsoft programs, just let me know. I'm sure I can find one or already have one in mind

Btw, all of the programs listed above are free.