Who likes FREE? I know I do. But were you aware that there are Open Source programs available for Windows users? Programs that compare favorably with some of the best paid programs?

What is Open Source? Basically it is software written by people who believe that software should be free for everyone, and that no money should be paid for their work. It is truly a amazing concept, one that makes some wonder……why do they do that?

During the course of my Internet travels, I was looking for a Open Source program that could be used in place of Adobe’s Photo Shop, when I stumbled on a site that lists many of the popular Open Source equivalents to paid for software. In this case, I found a program called GIMPShop. Though I knew that Gimp was available for Linux distro’s, since I have used it before, I was not aware that the program was also available for Windows. [I know I 've got to get out more!]

Back to the subject. There are a host of programs for Windows users that one can use, including Open Office that is on par with MS Office, Media Coder for ripping CD’s, and programs you may already be using like Firefox and Thunderbird. And you can’t beat the price.

If you are interested in trying some of the freebies take a look here.

Note: These softwares may not function properly with Vista.

[tags]windows, free, software, [/tags]