1. Wikipedia

The days of paying hundreds or thousands for an encyclopedia are gone. While it isn’t flawless, for as much info as it has on it, it is pretty darn good…Wikipedia.org

2. Google Calendar

My favorite online calendar tool that I have used. It is simple, flexible, and has a lot of features…Google.com/calendar

3. Faxzero

Send faxes over the internet for free! Faxzero.com

Affiliate

4. ClamWin

This is a great anti-virus program as an alternative to McAfee or Norton. It works with Windows 98/Me/2000/XP/2003 and Vista…Clamwin.com

5. Gimp

I discovered Gimp about 6 months ago and love it! It is the freeware version of Adobe Photoshop. It isn’t quite as feature-rich as Photoshop, but for most amateur photo-editing, it works great! Gimp.org

6. Windows Live Writer

Since I started blogging, I have looked at many offline blog publishing tools. Windows Live Writer has been one of the best I have found. I use it on my PC, and I use Ecto on my Mac…Windowslivewriter.spaces.live.com

7. Firefox

I kind of thought that everyone knew about Firefox by now, but I just checked my Analytics and 65% of my visitors are using Internet Explorer. It’s okay, I forgive you. I am not going to go into the 100 reasons why Firefox is better than IE right now, I will let you decide…Firefox.com

8. Gadwin printscreen

This is just a simple Windows-based printscreen function that makes taking screenshots a breeze…Gadwin.com/printscreen

9. Wordpress.org

Wordpress, Wordpress, Wordpress, how I love thee? Wordpress has been a key player in making blogging accessible to many people. For a self-hosted blog, this is as good as it gets…Wordpress.org

10. Roundpic.com

This website will easily let you add rounded corners to your pictures so you don’t poke your eye out! Roundpic.com

11. Reflectionmaker.com

And this one will take your image and create a little reflection, almost like it is sitting next to a lake! ReflectionMaker.com

 

15. Google Analytics

More information about your website’s stats than you will ever need! Google.com/analytics

 

16. Delicious Bookmarking

If you learn how to use del.icious correctly, I don’t think there is a better bookmarking tool out there. You can access them from any computer and since the tag feature is so great I never have difficulty finding something I’ve bookmarked…Delicious.com

17. Pidgin

A cool tool (software) that allows you to IM all your friends in one place. You can connect to AIM, MSN, Yahoo, and others all at once… Pidgin.im

18. Meebo

Also lets you keep tabs on all your IM friends, but you can do it from their site rather than downloading software with Pidgin…Meebo.com

19. CCleaner

CCleaner is a freeware system optimization, privacy and cleaning tool. It removes unused files from your system – allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. Additionally it contains a fully featured registry cleaner. But the best part is that it’s fast (normally taking less than a second to run) and contains NO Spyware or Adware! Ccleaner.com

20. AVG

Another Free Anti-virus program…Free.avg.com

21. OpenOffice

This is a great free replacement for Microsoft Office. It’s got the wordprocessor, spreadsheet, powerpoint, and more. Not quite as good as MS Office, but pretty darn close…OpenOffice.org

22. Filezilla

My favorite free FTP software…Filezilla.sourceforge.net

23. Thunderbird and Sunbird

These are two more toys from the maker of Firefox. Together they basically replace Microsoft Outlook. Thunderbird is a great email client and Sunbird is a pretty good calendar as well…Mozilla.org

More Ideas

Try these great how to ideas for helping yourself: 3 best FREE e-readers, 30 best FREE e-books, 23 Great FREE Programs, 5 quick computer security tips, 8 informations and identity theft protection tips, FREE do it yourself PC tune-up, protect yourself with secure passwords, and give Vista incredible speed.