Those who say nothing in life is free obviously haven't checked out some of the Internet's hottest downloads. Hundreds of high-quality programs are available at no cost whatsoever, ranging from productivity tools to great games and everything in between.
The following are just a few suggestions worthy of your consideration.
To serve and protect
Most computer users understand the importance of good antivirus software, but not everyone can afford it. Avira AntiVir Personal Edition offers free real-time computer protection against malicious viruses and nasty spyware. With its frequent updates, intuitive interface and fast performance, this freebie – which can scan internal and external drives – is a recommended pick for those low on cash.
Cool tool for school
Microsoft is offering aggressive pricing on some versions of the full-featured Microsoft Office, but there are a few free options that should do the trick, such as the awesome OpenOffice.org from Sun Microsystems. This suite of productivity tools – for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, databases and graphics -- runs on multiple operating systems and supports many file types created by other programs.
Let the music play
Even if you're not an iPod or iPhone user, there's a ton of functionality built into Apple's iTunes. From media organization and playback to ripping and burning to streaming radio stations and podcast subscriptions, the free iTunes features a clean interface (with Cover Flow support for album cover scrolling) and serves as a gateway to Apple's awesome online store. Also consider VideoLAN's free VLC Media Player, which supports dozens of audio and video codecs.
Picture perfect
You've probably used free photo editing and sharing tools like Flickr, Picasa or Adobe Photoshop Express, but those who need something more robust might opt for the free GIMP, available for Windows, Mac, Linux and other operating systems. With its customizable interface and powerful editing options, GIMP is ideal for both simple editing tasks – such as retouching, cropping, resizing and conversion – or more sophisticated tasks including heavy image manipulation and effects.
Mamma mia!
While Nintendo is probably none too pleased with this blatant knockoff, Super Mario Bros. 3 Mario Forever is a faithful and free clone to play on your computer. Perfect for kids and kids at heart, this 24MB download lets you play the revamped classic using your keyboard (or connected gamepad) to run, jump and butt-stomp on baddies as everyone's favourite moustached plumber.