Applications I can't live without : Part 1.

I work in the software Quality assurance field, and here are the Windows Applications I can't live without.(Doesn't involve the software testing apps - that list is endless). I use 3 windows OS: Win XP / Vista/ Win 7. These must have applications(atleast for me) are mostly free and open source which are sure to work in all the three OS. Check them out.

1. Notepad++:  free as in both "free speech" and "free beer"
        - The replacement for notepad, having advance features, and easy to use with a tabbed interface. It helps me a lot in writing my technical blog, as well as do some basic programming as well.
More info in Notepad++ website

2. Paint.Net :
        - Replacement for the Paint in Windows (the MSPaint in windows 7 is more powerful than the one in other versions like xp and vista). This application can handle layers, and can do almost all the adjustments that are needed for your small time picture editing needs.
More info in Paint.Net website

3. Open Office :
        - Open Office(earlier with Sun, now with Oracle after the acquisition) is an open source office applications having almost all the capabilities of of MS Office. A true MS Office replacement and nifty to work with!
More info in Open Office website

4. Foxit reader :
        - I use this instead of Adobe Acrobat reader to view *.pdf(Portable Document Format) files. Light to the memory, and easy to use.
        Foxit Reader website

5. Browsers - FireFox/ Chrome :
        - Firefox is the thing with fire in it's stomache and can be claimed as the IE killer - Open source, fast(except may be because of some scripts), and almost crash free. Chrome from Google is also reliable in most of the cases.
         FIrefox and Chrome can be obtained from their websites.


To be continued...