by G M Burkart

Created on: June 14, 2008   Last Updated: December 23, 2008

Welcome to Linux! If this is your first time using Linux, the sheer variety and breadth of choice you have in software - for free! - can be a little overwhelming. The best part of this is that you are free to try out new software as you wish and on your own terms. For the purposes of this article, we'll be looking at applications most common in the secure software repositories found for Linux distributions that use the GNOME and KDE desktop environments.

After re-orientation into the Linux environment, the hardest choices you'll face will revolve around choosing the best free programs to install. There is an embarassment of riches out there, the best comparable to commercial packages you can find on Windows or MacOSX. Speaking from the point of view of a casual user, I've found the programs listed below to be fast, easy to use and stable.

Here are the top 15 application categories and my personal recommendation for each:

#1: Browser: Firefox

In the so-called 'browser wars,' Mozilla Firefox continues to grab an ever-larger share of the market. It is cross-platform, extensible, and secure. Most importantly, it plays nice with the vast majority of websites. With the release of Firefox 3 it is also among the speediest and most extensible of browsers. Some Linux distributions come with Firefox already installed as the default browser, and for good reason: it's a must-have application of the first order. Check out the vast library of add-ons to customize Firefox to your liking.

#2: E-mail: Thunderbird

Another offering from Mozilla, Thunderbird is an easy and flexible e-mail client. It simplifies adding e-mail accounts from Gmail and other popular sources, and will import your mail from old accounts so you can be up and running in as little time as possible. Like Firefox above, the basics are easy and accessible, but the deeper options and settings allow you to powerfully customize e-mail with filters, tags, and text-editing options. Do you enjoy your 'conversation' view from Gmail? Thunderbird has threaded viewing as well. It supports both POP3 and IMAP4 e-mail protocols and handles newsgroups and RSS. With its own library of extensions, you can add features such as Google, WebDAV and iCal calendars, OpenPGP encryption, and many others.

#3: Office Suite: OpenOffice.org

In a single free package, OpenOffice.org manages to capture all the features expected by the majority of Microsoft Office users. You get word processing, spreadsheets, drawing, database and presentation software.

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