Office Suites
If you use Microsoft Office Suite you may want to try OpenOffice 2.0
OpenOffice 2.0 contains most of the functionality found in Microsoft Office - including Word Processing, Spreadsheets, Presentations, Databases, and Drawing - and even some functions that the Microsoft line doesn't (like the ability to save documents in the Adobe "PDF" format). Files can be saved in familiar Microsoft formats or in "OpenDoc" format.
Or, if you’re feeling a little adventurous, try one of the new online Office Suites like Zoho or Google Apps
Downside: While OpenOffice can save documents in Microsoft formats, small formatting issues can occur between the two. Also, some Microsoft features (most notably the Excel “Solver”) are not available in OpenOffice.
Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware
If you use McAfee Anti-Virus Enterprise Edition you may want to try Avast Anti-Virus Home Edition
Avast Home Edition provides multi-layered protection for Windows-based computers against viruses, e-mail, network, and web-based security threats. Avast Home Edition automatically updates itself over the Internet, insuring that your computer is prepared for new viruses or other threats.
Downside: Avast is only available for Windows users, and the free version is restricted to non-commercial, private use.
If you use Ad-Aware, you may want to try: SpyBot S&D
Spybot Search and Destroy seeks out a special class of programs called “Spyware” (programs that secretly transmit usage and other data back to companies without your knowledge) and allows you to remove them. Versions are available for Windows as well as Linux (running under Wine).
Downside: You must perform all updates and scans manually, so there’s potential for the Spyware definitions to quickly get out of date.
If you use Ad-Aware, you may want to try Ad-Aware 2007 Free
Ad-Aware 2007 Free helps protect your computer against “Spyware” (programs that secretly transmit usage and other data back to companies without your knowledge). Like SpyBot Search and Destroy, Ad-Aware will also remove suspicious software from your system.
Downside: Like SpyBot, you must manually perform updates and systems scans. Ad-Aware is a Windows-only program, so no support for Mac OS or Linux computers.
PDF Viewers
If you use Adobe Acrobat Reader you may want to try FoxIt PDF Viewer
FoxIt PDF is a freely available alternative to Adobe’s Acrobat Reader. Since Acrobat Reader is also free, you may wonder why you should take a look of FoxIt - one word: “Speed”. FoxIt PDF Reader renders PDF documents in an instant , and includes many features found in Adobe Acrobat including form filling and document annotation. FoxIt PDF is available for all versions of Windows.
Downside: Some advanced features of Acrobat Reader may not be available (like in-windows integration with your Web browser).
Image Editing
If you use Adobe Photoshop may want to try GNU Gimp
The GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) is a powerful open source program that allows sophisticated editing of photos, graphics, and other images (GIMP was used to create the animations in the movie Scooby-Doo). GIMP is a full-fledged Photoshop replacement, not a “light” or “free” version of a commercial package and is available for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux.
Downside: As powerful as it is, GIMP can have a steep learning curve for beginners or novices (though no more difficult than Photoshop).
Email & Calendaring
If you use Microsoft Exchange and Outlook, you may want to try Google Gmail and Google Calendar
Google’s Gmail has taken the free e-mail world by storm, combining an innovative yet simple user interface with 10GB’s of e-mail storage. Unlike many other free e-mail services, Google can work with your existing e-mail software (like Eudora or Outlook Express) or forward messages to another account. Google Calendar works with Google’s other online applications, and allows calendar’s to be shared between Google users or published to the Internet. Since Google’s applications are Web-based, they can be used from on almost any computer with a Web Browser and Internet connection.
Downside: Google’s applications are Web-based, so there’s no accessing your e-mail or calendar when you’re away from an Internet connection.
Instant Messaging
If you occasionally use AOL Instant Messenger or Windows Messenger, you may want to try Meebo
Meebo is a web-based Instant Messaging client that lets you log in simultaneously to seven instant messaging services, namely AIM, Google Talk, ICQ, Jabber, MSN Live Messenger, Yahoo Instant Messenger, and Meebo's own network. You see all your contacts in a single list, and you can correspond with everyone from a single interface. And since it’s web-based, there’s no need to install a client and works on any system with an Internet connection and a Web Browser.
Downside: It’s web-based, Meebo’s missing some of the advanced features (like Video Chat or File Transfers) found in other desktop IM clients.
If you frequently use AOL Instant Messenger or Windows Messenger, you may want to try Pidgin (formerly GAIM)
Pidgin is an instant messaging program for Windows and Linux. Pidgin has support for AIM, ICQ, Jabber/XMPP, MSN Messenger, Yahoo!, Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, IRC, Novell GroupWise Messenger, QQ, Lotus Sametime, SILC, SIMPLE, and Zephyr networks.
Downside: no Mac OS support.
Statistical Analysis
If you use SAS or S-Plus, you may want to try R and Bioconductor
R provides a wide variety of statistical (linear and nonlinear modeling, classical statistical tests, time-series analysis, classification, clustering, etc.) and graphical techniques, and is highly extensible. Combined with Bioconductor (an open source and open development software project for the analysis and comprehension of genomic data) R provides Biomedical Researchers a powerful toolkit for the analysis and presentation of statistical data. R and Bioconduction are used extensively by C&SS’ Consulting Statisticians.
Downside: To fully utilize R and Bioconductor requires significant knowledge of Mathematics and Statistics.
Operating Systems
If you use Microsoft Windows, you may want to try Ubuntu Linux
Ubuntu is a community developed Linux operating system that is perfect for laptops, desktops and servers. Whether you use it at home, at school or at work Ubuntu contains all the applications you'll ever need, from word processing and email applications, to web server software and programming tools. Ubuntu is and free of charge and supports a wide variety of hardware. Using an Ubuntu “Live CD” and a computer with a bootable CD Drive, you can try Ubuntu risk-free without needing to install anything on your hard drive.
Downside: Ubuntu is Linux, so Windows or Macintosh programs will not (easily) run under Ubuntu; support for wireless networking is improving, but still requires some manual configuration of the operating system.
