A regular theme in my columns has been Open Source versus corporate-driven software. This week, I'm going to provide you with a list of excellent free software that can replace common software that people pay good money for. I'll still assume you're paying for the operating system (Windows or OSX), unless you're a die hard Linux fan, in which case this is old hat to you.

Let's start off with a biggie. Microsoft Office has come to dominate the world of desktop word processing and spreadsheets. However there is a great alternative that offers almost 100% comparable features, and will read and write Office documents. The software is called Open Office (available from www.openoffice.org). It includes word processing, spreadsheets, database, presentation, and a scientific math application. Each application duplicates very closely the common features of Office. The software is updated regularly with new features, and bugs are fixed quickly. A web based alternative to Office is Google Docs & Spreadsheets. This is a more simplified version, but still contains about 80% of the useful functions in Office, including a spreadsheet tool, word processor, and presentation tool. Again, Office documents can be opened and saved without any trouble.

Cataloging and manipulation of photos is probably another one of the most common uses of your computer so I'll offer a few open source tools for this. If you are looking for high-end photo manipulation, something like Adobe Photoshop, then the only real alternative is GIMP (www.gimp.org), a powerful alternative that includes many of the features found in Photoshop. The only real drawback to GIMP is the user interface, which has not received as much work as is needed to provide an easy-to-use and understand layout. However, if you stick with it, you'll find all the tools and capabilities you could want to manipulate and create images. If you are looking for something with a smaller feature set, but still powerful, consider Paint.NET (www.getpaint.net). It has a very comfortable interface and offers tools to adjust, crop and resize images, as well as convert between common formats. A great photo library tool is Picasa, a product from Google that allows you to quickly organize and share your photos, along with some minimal adjusting.

Music is another popular aspect of computer use. iTunes is a great tool, freely available and easy to use. However, there are some other, less know alternatives that don't tie you into a corporate database. WinAmp has been around for quite awhile. It allows skinning, has tons of plug-ins and the free version allows you to rip files (but not to MP3 format) and burn cds. The full version is only $19.95. Another alternative, with again a limit on burn speeds and MP3 conversion is the free version of MediaMonkey (the one I use). For $19.95 you can get a Gold license, or for $39.95 a lifetime license that covers any future releases as well. For both of these apps, unlocking the full version allows 48x cd writing and unlimited MP3 conversion. They are both faster and more flexible than iTunes.

Check out next weeks column for more great free tools for your computer, including spyware removal, anti-virus, audio/video editing and more.