Infra Recorder is a very good software that I use to burn CDs and DVDs on my Windows machine. I’ve used it to burn data CD/DVDs, and work with iso files. Which means, bye bye proprietary Nero. According to the site, its full features are:

• Create custom data, audio and mixed-mode projects and record them to physical discs as well as disc images.
• Supports recording to dual-layer DVDs.
  
• Blank (erase) rewritable discs using four different methods.
• Record disc images (ISO and BIN/CUE).
  
• Create disc copies, on the fly and using a temporary disc image.
• Import session data from multi-session discs and add more sessions to them.
• Save audio and data tracks to files (.wav, .wma, .ogg, .mp3 and .iso).

This program is a Windows only. Sorry, I usually try to find cross-platform programs but I wasn’t able find one for this category.

Over the years I’ve created several email accounts and shared them with some friends and family to be in touch through Instant Messengers (IM). Being online for each account meant I had to open 4 different programs, each for one specific IM (AOL, MSN, Google Talk, Y!IM).

That was before all before I found Trillian, a proprietary program. It has a free version, I’ll give credit to that but the application was starting to slow down my computer a lot. That is when I switched to the open source Pidgin, formerly known as Gaim.

Want to burn a movie DVD with files from your computer? Do it ever so easily with DVD Flick. I’ve yet to find another program that is better and easier to use then DVD Flick.

You can even add subtitles (and edit its appearance), add different audio tracks, and adjust some other settings of your DVD project. The process really couldn’t be easier.

For a simple burn just select the file and click on “Create DVD”. Under 1 minute’s worth of effort and then you can just wait (a couple of hours) for the project to be completed all by itself. If you want to modify some settings – I always choose to burn directly to the DVD for example – you can easily do it.

Have you hear of Photoshop? Who hasn’t, right?! Although this piece of software is incredibly good, it is too powerful for the vast majority of users. Why spend so much cash on such software if you’re only using about 10% of its real functions?

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) handles image manipulations task extremely well. It works for the newbies who just want to resize or convert an image file, up to more advanced users who would like to build complex images. The main principles of image editing are present in GIMP (layers, channels, and a lot more that I haven’t even explored). Another nice thing about GIMP is that it works with plug-ins so you can extend its functions.

Now it is time to say goodbye to MS Outlook, MS Outlook Express and start giving your email a fresh new home free from constraints. Mozilla’s Thunderbird is extremely handy to organize your email, contacts, and even appointments.

Thunderbird can handle well the task of managing your emails with POP and IMAP accounts. For those who don’t know by the way, IMAP is used to synchronize your email account directly from the server. This means that the email will be viewed through your program but also be stored on the server, not downloaded entirely to your computer, a good thing if you check your email from several locations.

This is one of the most popular, and most essential, open source projects currently available. OpenOffice.org, or just OpenOffice, or simply OOo, is your multi-platform alternative to MS Office.

For the basic and intermediate users, OpenOffice will suffice as an office suite. Don’t think you’ll be loosing productivity if you used OpenOffice, it has a lot of the same features that the proprietary solutions. When you start using OpenOffice, you will spend a bit of time to find where the functions are, but don’t worry, you’ll find them.

Get rid of WinZip, WinRAR, and stick with 7-zip. Why?

7-zip is pretty much the only file archiver you’ll need, it works with several formats such as: 7z, ZIP, GZIP, BZIP2, TAR, RAR, CAB, ISO, ARJ, LZH, CHM, MSI, WIM, Z, CPIO, RPM, DEB and NSIS. This is an utility I install on every computer I can.

Once installed, you will have a menu of options available when you use your mouse right-click on top of any file. Besides that, if you want you’ll also have the regular 7-zip program you can open and archive or extract files. All of these operations are extremely simple to do.

A couple of websites that have helped me greatly to find excellent open source projects:

• osalt.com (open source as alternative): here you will find a good list of open source alternatives, a description of each program and the rating readers have given to each project;
• SourceForge : the home of the majority of open source projects, you will also find statistics of the most downloaded programs and their “pick of the month”.

Both of these links are a great place to start. They will list software for Linux, Windows and MacOS.

OpenComputer.net is a project I’ll start on my spare time to help users gain familiarity with open source programs. I admit, not too long ago I wasn’t much aware of open source softwares and the benefit of using them.

With open source I’ve now been able to work productively between two operating systems, doing as much as I did before with freeware or proprietary projects. On a Windows machine, prefer open source since it is much safer from spyware and you can use many of the programs in Linux if you decide later to change (like I have). Added to that, you are using a software that is free for anyone to use.