Ubuntu: the first genuinely innovative, modern, and original UI for an open source operating system; coming soon to the tablet market
LibreOffice: document-compatible with OpenOffice, so users of one can switch to the other with little worry that their projects will be mangled
OpenOffice: word processor, spreadsheet, graphic design, presentations, math formulas, and database connectivity are all included, at no cost, along with a broad array of add-ons, such as spelling and grammar tools for several languages
OpenOffice Templates: a collection of user-created templates for OpenOffice applications; all sorts of templates available, from run-of-the-mill presentations and business letters to resumes, Christmas lists, calendars, legal filings, financial analysis, and pretty much any kind of business document you could think of
AbiWord: a word processor without all the overhead of OpenOffice, AbiWord provides basic word processing in a fraction of the space. Its support of document types is limited (it works best with plain-vanilla .RTF or .DOC files), but it handles core tasks well and has a third-party add-on structure for expanded functionality
Scribus: the LibreOffice and OpenOffice of desktop publishing; imports external documents and images, has advanced typographic controls, supports a broad range of image formats, tables of contents, drop caps, advanced text-wrapping and reflowing functions; lacks native support for Pantone colors and other commercial swatch sets
Chromium: the open source, unbranded version of Google; a fast, WebKit-based browser with tons of third-party extensions and a process management system that guarantees an errant plug-in or stuck page won't bring down the whole browser
Firefox: Mozilla's long-term focus on users' freedoms has sometimes put Firefox at a disadvantage in terms of advanced feature support (HTML5 video codecs, for instance), but the browser remains both relevant and up to date
GIMP: the image editor that's most often tossed around as a free replacement for Adobe Photoshop; no other program in its class has achieved such widespread use, support, or porting to various platforms
Inkscape: the open source equivalent to Adobe Illustrator, Inkscape is a vector drawing program with features to rival commercial applications in the same space
CamStudio: allows you to record part or all of a screen, a specific window, or even a roaming region that follows your cursor; the resulting video file can be saved in .AVI format or converted to Flash's .FLV format for easy reuse
Audacity: a multiplatform audio recording, editing, and conversion application that can import, export, and manipulate sound files in just about every format in common use
VLC: plays just about any file format and any media type you can throw at it, and it can add subtitles on the fly from external files; it's also self-contained. No additional codecs need to be installed, although on Windows it can make use of native system codecs where needed
KeePass: multiplatform app that stores passwords in a heavily secured database with top-grade, independently vetted encryption
7-Zip: reliably opens most archive formats in use and compresses to a few common formats, including its own highly optimized, open-architecture 7Z format; even file system archives like ISO, UDF, and SquashFS can be cracked open with 7-Zip, making it a handy way to pop open the contents of a disk image for adding to a bootable flash drive
WinDirStat: shows you with easy-to-read graphics that depict where disk space is being allocated on one or more volumes, turning maintenance and disk cleanups into a game instead of a chore
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Bossie Awards 2012: The Best Open Source Desktop Applications
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