The 46 Free Desktop Software Applications

The 46 Free Desktop Software Applications, Webapps, and Projects We're Most Thankful For
Firefox (see also: The Power User's Guide to Firefox 3)
VLC Media Player (see also: Master Your Digital Media with VLC)
Ubuntu (see also: Hardy Heron Makes Linux Worth Another Look)
Open Office (see also: A First Look at OpenOffice.org 3.0)
Pidgin (see also: Ten Must-Have Plug-ins to Power Up Pidgin)
Launchy (see also: Take Launchy beyond application launching)
Digsby (see also: Digsby Improves Performance, Supports LinkedIn)
Gmail (see also: Our full Gmail coverage)
Adium (see also: Adium Chat Improves Menu Bar Item, Corrects Your IM Grammar )
CCleaner (see also: CCleaner 2.0 Decrapifies Your PC)
Picasa (see also: Organize your digital photos with Picasa)
AutoHotKey (see also: Turn Any Action into a Keyboard Shortcut)
Google
Quicksilver (see also: A beginner's guide to Quicksilver)
GIMP
Foobar 2000 (see also: Roll your own killer audio player with foobar2000)
Thunderbird (see also: Eight killer Thunderbird extensions)
7-Zip (see also: Top 10 Windows Downloads, #10: 7-Zip (file archive manager) )
DropBox (see also: Dropbox Syncs and Backs Up Files Between Computers Instantaneously)
uTorrent (see also: Our complete uTorrent coverage )
Winamp (see also: Our complete Winamp coverage)
Google Apps
AVG Antivirus (see also: AVG Free Anti-Virus 2008 Released, Much Improved)
Evernote (see also: Expand Your Brain with Evernote)
IrfanView (see also: Download of the Day: IrfanView (Windows) )
Opera (see also: Opera Updates to Version 9.6, Gets Faster, Adds Features)
Chrome (see also: The Power User's Guide to Google Chrome)
Google Calendar (see also: Black-belt scheduling with Google Calendar)
HandBrake (see also: HandBrake Media Converter Gets Even Better)
Skype (see also: Our complete Skype coverage)
Linux (see also: Our complete Linux coverage)
Paint.NET (see also: Top 10 Windows Downloads, #3: Paint.NET )
Ad-Aware (see also: Cleanse thy PC with Ad-Aware)
Avast Antivirus (see also: Download of the Day: Avast anti-virus)
Google Docs (see also: Our complete Google Docs coverage)
LogMeIn (see also: Use LogMeIn for remote tech support)
Transmission (see also: Manage Your BitTorrent Downloads with Transmission)
TrueCrypt (see also: Secure your data with TrueCrypt)
Amarok (see also: An Early Look at Amarok 2)
FileZilla (see also: FTP File Transfer Across Platforms with Filezilla 3.0)
Notepad++ (see also: Top 10 Windows Downloads, #6: Notepad++)
PortableApps.com (see also: Download of the Day: PortableApps Suite 1.0 (Windows))
Rocket Dock (see also: Download of the Day: RocketDock (Windows))
Spybot Search & Destroy (see also: Spybot Search and Destroy crushes evil)
UltraVNC (see also: Tech support with UltraVNC SingleClick)
VirtualBox (see also: VirtualBox 2.0 Adds 64-bit Support, Updated Interface)
A note on the numbers: Mozilla Firefox took first place in this exercise in gratitude with an insanely commanding lead; in fact, Firefox got more than three times the amount of votes the second-place mention (VLC) did. Here's a chart of the top eight on the list so you can see how the votes were spread out relative to one another.