Open source software is becoming more and more popular. The ability to create software as a community is one that should be cherished. It’s amazing to see how quickly open source software develops. Therefore, I will be keeping track of the best and essential open source software on this page. Keep in mind that open source software is totally free.

For Windows:

Buddi A personal finance and budgeting program.

ClamWin A free antivirus for Microsoft Windows 98/Me/2000/XP.

FileZilla A fast and reliable FTP client and server.

Firefox An award-winning Web browser from Mozilla.

GnuCash Personal and small-business financial-accounting software.

NotePad++ A free source code editor (and Notepad replacement).

OpenOffice A multiplatform and multilingual office suite.

Paint.NET A free image editing and photo manipulation software. [Review]

Pidgin A multi-protocol Instant Messaging client.

Thunderbird An acclaimed email client from Mozilla.

VLC Media Player A highly portable multimedia player.

If you don’t see something that you think should be on the list, please leave a comment.

Note: If you are a student of the University of Waterloo, you can obtain a copy of Windows XP from MSDN-AA (Microsoft Developer Network Academic Alliance). Windows Vista Business is also available for CD pick up.