Back for another round:
CloneZilla - This is an easy to use Linux based version of the Ghost software. What you can do is have the program take a snapshot of your entire computer, compress it into a file, called an image, and then store that image for as long as you want. If your computer ever freaks out on you, you can just reload that image back onto your computer, and your computer will be just like it was when you used CloneZilla. It's a combination of the System Restore and System Recovery mechanisms...it removes everything on your computer (including viruses, spyware, etc.) and lets you restore your computer like the System Recovery, but it lets you restore it to the point you took the image, like System Restore. It's very handy.
It's also very handy if you buy several of the same kind of machines, and only want to set up one of them. Just set up one machine, and then CloneZilla the others.
GIMP/
GIMPShop - This is a very powerful Adobe Photoshop alternative. For those people who have never had an imaging program, GIMP/GIMPShop provides a chance (for free, of course) to let everyone have a chance to manipulate images and do what they want with them. Everyone on the site could be a sig maker if you wanted. GIMPShop is the same thing as GIMP, except it's layed out in a format similar to Photoshop, and not GIMP. This comes highly recommended to people with no money who like to mess with graphics.
phpBB forums - A phpBB forum is free forum software which anyone can download and install themselves. In order to install it, you'll need to have a web server set up, with MySQL and PHP installed, all free components. Apache and MySQL are both mentioned in the list of programs. But anyways, you can set it up and learn how to work forum software on your own time and learn the ways you can work a forum, including how to modify it.
It's not vBulletin, like we use here, but it's not bad for free software.
Pidgin - This program is an all-in-one Instant Messaging system. It will allow you to sign on to all of your messenger accounts, including Yahoo, MSN, AIM, ICQ, etc. all in the same program. No more having to open 5 different messengers to talk to all of your friends, you can do it all in one program. Additionally, this program is available for both Linux and Windows operating systems (and probably Macs too, but Mac users don't count), and is fairly lightweight and easy to use. You won't get all the bells and whistles, but for those of us who, *gasp*, use Instant Messaging to Instant Message, it's a very good program.
Ubit - Do you have Microsoft Office 2007? Do you hate the new ribbon system Office 2007 uses, where it seems that everything is much harder to find? Then install this handy little tool. It is a small plugin, but when it is installed, it will create another item on your toolbar called "Menu". If you click the Menu item, beneath will be the old Microsoft layout, where everything is categorized just like it was in previous versions of Office. Now you can find everything the way you always did before. This comes highly recommended for anyone who uses Microsoft Office 2007, but hates the new layout.
