Free Software

[Checkm8]

Brackets is a nice free source code editor.

[Cat Square]

i like inkscape for vector graphics and i recently started using freeCAD for 3D design -- Sketchup is good for quick and dirty models (that interface is a dream), but parametric design is worth the learning curve when it comes time to edit/revise models

[tsmitho]

https://ninite.com/ Should be at the top of the list. It is a one shop solution to most of the free software that is listed. its great for a new computer because you can select however many programs you want and it will make an installer for all of them. The best thing is it is very safe and better than trying to download programs from other websites. when googling open office or java download, you may get ads that mislead people to download malware. ninite has everything in one reliable place. it also automatically opts out of bundled bloatware. the other thing is if you keep the downloader file, you can click it any time later to update the selected programs, if there isnt a new version it just quickly skips over it. again, avoiding having to read and opt out of bundled bloatware with updates. just my 2 cents.

[eumoria]

pfSense is a great dedicated router / firewall solution for x86 systems. Use it for the network at work.

[Archon]

updated a little bit

[Boss Llama]

Nice, thanks Archon! It's always great to keep abreast of these free tools. There are a couple these I use and definitely recommend!

[Plinko]

Winamp
http://www.winamp.com (yep, its still around)