Free tools, and programs to make using a computer a little less of a drag.

• - Firefox - I think it is the best browser, period. Aside from the fact that it is safer for your computer, tabbed browsing, extensions, skins, the list goes on and on.
• Thunderbird - I think Microsoft Outlook is one of the few things Microsoft did right, however if you can't afford the steep price tag, thunderbird is second best.
• Defender - By Microsoft, help protect your computer from spy ware and mal ware
• Photostory - I think this is the best and easiest tool for creating photo slide shows, couple this with your favorite DVD burning application and you've got a great gift to give to friends. Professional quality results with very little effort (shh! don't tell my secret, oh crap this is a web page! Secrets out!)
• Clamwin - I think that hands down the best anti virus is NOD32 by Eset ($40 per year, per machine) but clamwin is a great free alternative
• Picasa - This can replace that clunky software that comes with your camera to upload photos, it also helps you organize your pix, do basic edits, print them or have the pix sent to Wally World for later pick up. Sweeeeet!
• Google Earth - It is on of my guilty pleasures to waste time just lookin' around at Earth from space - why? I don't know, but you can also get directions and get a great sense of the lay of the land.
• Keepass - keep all your passwords in one spot and only have to remember one password. The file is encrypted and you can back it up. Stop putting post its on your monitor! Tisk Tisk.
• Convert - A great, yet tiny little app. to convert anything into anything (you know, meters to feet, seconds to days, that type of thing.
• Itunes - If you want to listen to music on your computer, this is the best way to do it, easy to use but yet lots of features.
• Synergy - stay away from this one if you're not as much of a geek as me - oh shoot, that's pretty much everyone! Anyway, put your laptop next to your desktop and control both from one keyboard and mouse with no hardware to buy (works over the network) Whoa, that is so stinkin' cool! Look Ma no hands!
• Audacity - if you need to edit a song or sound file (and what geek doesn't?) Adobe's Audition is the way to go, but if you want to do it for free, Audacity is your choice.
• Launchy is program launcher. Press alt-space type in the first few letters of the app. you want to launch hit enter and presto.
• Hydrogen is a fun ultra time waster. Create drum tracks and loops. This app. was written for linux and was ported to windows so all the features are not yet working in windows but still way fun and easy.
• PDF Creator is a tool to create PDF files so that the world can read your Publisher file Garage Sale flyer. This is important stuff.

Those are the main ones for now, I'll think of more later. By the way, I love feedback, let me know what you think of the site.