Web Browsing

Mozilla Firefox

The premier free, open-source browser. Tabs, pop-up blocking, themes, and extensions. Considered by many to be the world's best browser.
Download Page

IM - Instant Messaging

Gaim

Connect to multiple IM accounts simultaneously in a single app, including: AOL IM, MSN, and Jabber.
Download Page

Email

Mozilla Thunderbird

Powerful spam filtering, solid interface, and all the features you need.
Download Page

RSS

FeedReader

Simple, lightweight aggregator.
Download Page

RSSOwl

Solid cross-platform RSS client.
Download Page

Internet TV / Video Podcasting

Democracy Player

Subscribe to internet TV channels (video RSS feeds), download and watch all in one app. Built-in Channel Guide and torrent support.
Download Page

Peer-to-Peer Filesharing

Cabos

A simple, easy to use filesharing program. Gnutella network.
Download Page

Gnucleus

A very good Gnutella search and download filesharing program.
Download Page

BitTorrent

Download large files from multiple people simultaneously.
Download Page

Azureus

A more complicated BitTorrent client. So many features you'll lose your mind.
Download Page

Video Playback

Media Player Classic

Compact, but powerful media player. Plays anything under the sun. No install necessary.
Download Page

VLC

Plays more video files than most players: Quicktime, AVI, DIVX, OGG, and more. Pretty good interface.
Download Page

MPlayer

Similar to VLC-- plays loads of video formats.
Download Page

DVD Ripping / Video Conversion

Media Coder

Great tool for ripping CDs, DVDs, etc and converting between tons of video formats.
Download Page

Word Processing / Office Suites

OpenOffice.org

Big, full featured suite of tools for word processing and spreadsheets. Compatible with and a free replacement for Microsoft Word documents. Also supports OpenDocument Format.
Download Page

AbiWord

A word processor. Leaner and quicker than OpenOffice. Compatible with Microsoft Word documents and OpenDocument Format.
Download Page

Podcasting

Juice

Solid podcasting client.
Download Page

DVD Ripping

Handbrake

DVD to MPEG-4 ripper/converter.
Download Page

Sound Recording

Audacity

Simple sound recording tool.
Download Page

Graphics / Photo Editing

GIMPShop

Photo editing application that rivals Photoshop in features.
Download Page

Paint.net

Graphics editor with a very nice interface.
Download Page

Inkscape

Vector graphics application.
Download Page

FTP / SFTP

Filezilla

Excellent FTP program.
Download Page

IRC

X-Chat 2

IRC client.
Download Page