Vista - The best free open source software for Windows

If you run Microsoft Windows, you owe it to yourself to try these 10 killer open source apps -- InfoWorld's top picks

By Randall C. Kennedy

To many, free open source software and Microsoft Windows seem to be mutually exclusive. After all, the open source development model is most closely associated with the Linux OS and, to a lesser degree, various Unix derivatives. So when you mention the two together, you often get some rather strange looks. This is a shame because there exists a growing landscape of compelling free and open source solutions just waiting for the intrepid Windows user

Read on -
http://www.infoworld.com/print/84903

I agree JMH, I use quite a lot of Open Source stuff on all my systems at home and also recommend and install a large number of these free software programs on client's computers. There is almost no way the average end-user could afford to buy all the necessary software for home computing these days...unless very wealthy of course. I install everything from OpenOffice to unzippers and a lot in between. To date I have never had any issues (touch wood) with open source stuff and have many happy clients to show for it. With any repair these days , the first thing I check is the legitimacy of installed software and suggest free replacements for any dodgy installations..the risks of running counterfeit software now is too great..both with legality and system security. I am constantly amazed by the 'ostrich syndrome' of a lot of end users who use dodgy stuff then wonder why their private stuff gets compromised and in a few cases, various personal accounts get hi-jacked or stolen.Still....good for business , I guess , although still frustrating to witness otherwise intelligent people get caught by malware etc.

ive been using paint.net for a very long time , its fantastic!

When I went to Vista Ultimate x64 and couldn't install my MS office pro, I went with open office and have had great success. But it still has a couple of small glitches but being free one cannot complain to loudly. Had to find a couple of free conveters to veiw and open the old formats but price was right.
Bonus also, came with a math program that I,m not going to tell the wife about or she'll want to use my computer to do her college math classes, but I need to spend a little time with it to try to figure it out.

Try Open Office, you'll like it.

So I guess that I might be on the right track then, and all through advice and recommendations from Forum Members, and of course, Brink's List of Free Software for Vista.

In my system I already have;

• 7 Zip.
• PDF Creator.
• Paint.net.
• Firefox 3.0.12 [not the full v3.5 yet because a few add-ons are not compatible with that version.....yet!]
• OpenOffice.org

So does that make me a 50% geek? No, I just like free stuff that is hassle-free and works well.

I got stuff like Gimp, Inkscape, ccleaner. See of you see something like photoshop there is pretty much a free alternative.

I like open source applications, especially the portable versions of them. All ones from the Randall's list are, btw.

Something you can do to stumble upon some gems is go to
SourceForge.net: Find and Develop Open-Source Software

and search on the keyword win32

Some of the stuff you don't even know is out there works pretty well. To narrow your results you might add a term of interest like "fractal" or "paint" or "editor" or whatever.