OK, i feel its sort of my task to keep people updated on the wonderful world of Available Software out there. So I'm gonna toss out some products that I use on a daily basis, and that I'm recommending very strongly. Four must-have products .... Phoenix Web Browser - (based upon Mozilla/GEcko) OK, so Windows comes with Internet Explorer built in. But guess what? There's another browser out there that's very lightweight, very fast, very standards-compliant, very stable, and feature rich. For those who like to try out new things, or simply enjoy having a choice of what software they use, I give a 5-star recommendation to Phoenix. Why? I've been browsing with this software for months, and I've found it to be faster than IE, more stable than IE, and less memory intensive. And tabbed browsing takes the entire web browsing thing to a whole 'nother level. ***** (that's five stars, count 'em). This is available on both Linux and Windows. GAIM - (substitute for AIM) benefits? Well, as of right now, I'm signed on to AIM, ICQ, MSN, and Yahoo messengers thru one client- gaim. The interface is wonderfully familiar and clean. There's also a built in spell checker, and tabbed chat windows as well - a great way to save valuable real estate on the monitor. No advertisements, and transparency is a feature. This is available on both Linux and Windows. 4 stars (it's still a young product, under development) Ad-aware - This program hunts down spyware that has installed itself secretly on our computers and eradicates these terrible things. Often, the reason why computers get really slow is because unknowingly, users will allow invasive programs to make themselves at home on their computers. That's bad. This will get rid of those buggers. This is for Windows. and finally ... AVG - Need a free, high quality, frequently updated anti-virus software? If you're not running an anti-virus scanner/shield, it's probably a good idea to do so. This is for Windows. side note - Oh, as a side note, these products (Phoenix and GAIM in particular) are developed by people who use and love computers. They write these programs not for profit, but simply for the sake of creating and using a great product -- and to offer a choice to what is otherwise a (figurative) one-man show out there. In the past, Microsoft has had a tendency to supposedly "adhere" to standards, then once they grab market share, conveniently ignore and break standards. Why do they do this? Well, they first latch onto a given standard - whether w3c html recommendations, c++ standards, or whatever. Then, after they've gained some ground, and they provide for their users an upgrade from version 3.0 to 4.0, and people begin to unknowingly develop their webpages or what-not around the newer almost standards-compliant-but-not-quite Microsoft specs, compatibility is broken between Microsoft and everyone else. This is bad. They've tried to do this with C++, Java, HTML, with just about everything they put their hands to. Hey, Microsoft is a company that's out to make the cream (cash rules everything around me dollah dollah bill yall), and I do applaud Bill Gates for his shrewd tactics - what an astounding and ruthless business man. Not only that, they are very good at what they do - the products they've released are an awesome benchmark for what good software is supposed to look and feel like - not perfect, but very very easy and comfortable to use. Nevertheless, there must be a leveraging force from somewhere else, and being able to support the Everyman is just A Noble Thing (TM). Just like in the realm of politics, where one by one, one person's vote can make the difference, the best way for a computer user to let their influence be felt is by supporting the best product available. I don't necessarily subscribe to "don't use Microsoft/AOL simply because its Microsoft or AOL." These products (Phoenix & GAIM) really are well written and great to use. Plus, from a software development standpoint, its just nice to support the open-source movement.