By FreeApps.co.in is a website that lists a variety of free applications intended for a variety of purposes. I can heartily recommend Pidgin (or it's MacOSX equivalent Adium), Audacity, FileZilla, Firefox, Foxit Reader, Open Office, VLC and µTorrent. I'm actually going to download Scribus; a free DTP package, and see if it's any good.
Let me know if it is please, matey.
Scribus actually looks quite good but needs GhostScript installed to use correctly. For an inexperienced user it's an extra level of un-needed complication. I've discovered that Serif are offering a slightly older version of PagePlus as a free download. It's available from here.