“The Top 50 Proprietary Programs that Drive You Crazy — and Their Open Source Alternatives” goes through many of the expensive software people use daily, and highlights a free open source alternative to each one.

If you have been wondering what you can gain from free open source software, just take a look at this list. Open source programmers are a dedicated crowd, and have been working hard for a long time on alternatives to all of the most popular software packages. The list contains databases, web browsers, spreadsheets, office productivity software, image editors and full blown operating systems. Here are a few excerpts from the list that we use on a daily basis at Of Zen and Computing H.Q.: