Free alternatives to popular, commercial Windows programs

If you have a PC at home running Windows, chances are, like most people, you mainly use it for word processing and surfing the web, at the very least. Editing pictures and videos are other common activities among home PC users, before these pictures and videos get posted on the web for viewing on such sites as youtube and flickr.

For word processing, the most commonly used software is MS Office, which, with the release of the 2007 version has gotten even better.

For editing pictures, the most popular, and easily recognizable, software include Photoshop, for serious graphics work, Photoshop Elements, its more user-friendly counterpart, and Paint, because it comes free with Windows. Another popular commercial graphics software is Paint Shop Pro, with features that rival those of Photoshop.

For video editing, Windows Movie Maker is easily recognizable, because, like Paint, it comes free with Windows. The heavyweights in this category include Adobe Premier, CyberLink PowerDirector, Pinnacle and Sony Vegas.

However, for those on a budget, there are free but closed-source and free, open-source alternatives to these commercial software packages.

The most popular office suite alternative to MS Office is OpenOffice, with Google Docs & Spreadsheets, with its web-based model, coming in at second.

For graphics work, the GIMP offers features and capabilities that rival Photoshop’s. GIMP even has a variant known as GimpShop, which closely resembles the Photoshop user interface, easing the transition for Photoshop users new to the product. Other open-source graphics editors include CinePaint, used for retouching images in 35mm film, and Paint.NET.

For video editing, VirtualDub, Virtual Edit, Avedit, Wax, Zwei-Stein and SolveigMM Avi Trimmer, rival, if not approximate, their commercial software counterparts’ capabilities.

Regardless of how you use your PC, there are free alternatives to the commercial software packages available for it. It’s just a matter of looking. Many of these free programs trace their origins to Linux, with its emphasis on bundled open-source software. Free software packages also abound for Mac users as well.

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