You don't have to spend hundreds of dollars on programs such as Microsoft Office or Adobe Photoshop. You can find free feature-rich alternatives online. Don't let the fact that they're free dissuade you from trying them. These programs are terrific.

Why do people create free programs? Many programmers believe software should be free. For instance, thousands of people work on Mozilla's free Firefox Web browser. Only a handful are paid. And the rest? Some want to take on Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Some just like to write code. And many are nice people who want to help others.

The following are some of my favorite freebies. There isn't enough room in this column to cover each program's features. But you can download them and explore the features yourself. You'll find download links at www.komando.com/news.

SPREADSHEETS, ETC.

Microsoft Office is the de facto standard office suite. You probably use it at work, but that doesn't mean you need it at home.

The free OpenOffice includes a word processor, spreadsheet, database, presentation program and more. OpenOffice is compatible with Microsoft Office files, so you can use it to open and save files in the Office formats.

DOWNLOAD E-MAIL

OpenOffice doesn't contain a Microsoft Outlook equivalent. You'll need to look elsewhere for a program to manage e-mail. Mozilla's free Thunderbird offers many of the same e-mail features as Outlook.

CALENDAR OPS

If you're doing away with Outlook, you'll need a calendar management program.

Lightning is a free calendar add-on for Thunderbird. Or download Sunbird. It provides the same features as Lightning in a free standalone program.

DESIGN WITH THE BEST

A word processor is great for creating general documents. But if your documents are professionally printed, you need a desktop-publishing program.

Scribus is much like Microsoft Publisher or Adobe InDesign. You'll get professional-quality page layouts in a free easy-to-use program.

EDIT PHOTOS

Photoshop is the Holy Grail for many photographers. However, the $600 price tag puts it out of reach of many.

You don't need to settle for a lesser photo editor. The free program called GIMP rivals Photoshop in terms of features — and complexity! It puts advanced photo-editing tasks at your fingertips. GIMP will even appeal to professional photographers. Add-ons expand GIMP's features.

There is much more free photo software available on my site. Even if you have never edited a picture, you'll find usable programs.

REFINE DRAWING SKILLS

Like Photoshop, illustration programs can be quite costly. You can spend hundreds of dollars on Adobe Illustrator or Corel Draw.

Inkscape lacks some advanced features, but is a worthy free contender and compatible with many different file types.

CREATIVE GRAPHICS

Microsoft Paint is included with Windows. It isn't a serious graphics program, but many casual users rely on it.

Unfortunately, Microsoft Paint is difficult for children to use. In contrast, the free Tux Paint is specifically designed for children. Large buttons make it easy to create drawings and graphics.

EDIT DIGITAL VIDEOS

The professional-grade Adobe Premiere video-editing program is more powerful than most people need.

Avidemux is free and ideal for home users. It simplifies the video-editing process and works with a variety of file formats.

Avidemux lacks many of Premiere's features. But it is more advanced than other video editors. You can correct colors and apply special effects and filters.

WEB DESIGN

Do you want to create your own Web site? I recommend a WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) HTML editor. You can design Web pages without learning any coding.

Dreamweaver is a popular WYSIWYG editor, but you'll get the same features with the free Nvu.

CREATE PDF FILES

PDF files are incredibly popular. They can be read on virtually any computer without formatting inconsistencies.

Most people won't use Adobe Acrobat enough to justify its price. Enter PDFCreator, a free program. PDFCreator resides in your printer list. Install it and select it as a printer to convert a file to PDF.

PDFCreator does not let you edit PDF files. For that, you need a full-fledged PDF program.

MONEY MANAGEMENT

Every household and business needs an accounting program to manage finances.

TurboCASH is much like QuickBooks. However, it was designed for both home and small business use.

TurboCASH tracks your bills, account balances and even your stocks. It also handles invoicing and provides reports and analysis.