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We all need software to get actual value out of using a computer. It is something that we all take for granted. It’s easy to forget that even 10 years ago most software came on CD’s packaged with computers. If you bought a computer you’d get a set of maybe 10 or 15 compact discs that would have software like Microsoft Encarta, Word, or some cheap games. Now, the most important piece of software on your computer is probably the web browser, and all major browsers are free now.

Below you’ll find the best of the essential software that you need to be productive on your computer. Most of it is free, some of it isn’t.

Web Browsers

There are three extremely popular web browsers right now that are completely free. Each one is modern, fast, and can handle all your web browsing needs.

Mozilla Firefox

Firefox is the first of what I would call the modern browser revolution.  For years after Internet Explorer 6, Microsoft obstinately refused to upgrade the browser to meet modern web standards. At the same time, the Mozilla foundation – formerly Netscape, was breaking apart their software into a separate browser, e-mail client, and calendaring client. The browser eventually became known as Firefox.

Firefox is the most popular of all modern browsers, aside from of course Internet Explorer. Recent reports indicate that Firefox has managed to reach 20% market share, which is particularly impressive given the fact that most Windows computers come with Internet Explorer built-in.

Firefox itself is completely free, is open source, and is regarded by many as the best web browser available currently. The last major version release is version 3 and included many speed and user interface enhancements.

Internet Explorer 8

IE is the most popular of all web browsers because it is built into Windows. If you own Windows you have a copy of Internet Explorer already. The latest version is version 8 and is still in beta testing. However, you can download it from Microsoft directly. Version includes a lot of nice enhancements, and generally improves the browser experience a lot.

Microsoft has finally gotten serious about supporting real web standards and version 8 is a big step in the right direction for them. That means that as the user your webpages will load faster will look better and you will have fewer glitches.

Click here to download the latest Internet Explorer 8 beta.

Google Chrome

Google Chrome is the new kid on the block. No it isn’t a teen pop sensation. It’s a free web browser from Google and it does a lot of things extremely well. For example, it is now the fastest browser on the planet. It has Google search built right in, does tabbed browsing probably smoother than any other browser. While it’s only been released for a few months, it already has picked up millions of users. Don’t be surprised if this browser soon becomes your default browser once you try it. The sheer speed at which it runs is truly a sight to behold and will make you much more productive.

Office Software

The software is extremely important to be productive on a modern computer. You can’t really be as productive without it. The modern office suite usually comes with a word processor application, spreadsheet application, presentation application, and a lightweight database application.

Microsoft Office 2007

By far, the best office suite currently available is Microsoft Office. It’s an industry standard for a reason. The reason being that it is the absolute best word processor or spreadsheet and presentation software combination available.

The strength of Microsoft Office is not just that it is the standard. The strength is that Microsoft continually innovates, to create the best user experience possible. Say what you will about Microsoft, they are dead serious about making office, the absolute best it could possibly be.And it shows.

OpenOffice.org

OpenOffice is a completely free, open source piece of software that does much the same things that Microsoft Office does.The biggest difference of course is the price. If you don’t need the latest and greatest version of Microsoft Office, or you don’t want to spend the money for it, OpenOffice is a fantastic replacement.

The strength of OpenOffice is that it can work very well with your existing Microsoft Office files. It can open up Word Documents, Excel Spreadsheets, or even Powerpoint Presentations. It also can save files in the Microsoft Office formats, so you can send them to other people who use Microsoft Office. The ability to work with Micorosft Office is reason enough to make OpenOffice worth consideration, plus it’s completely free.