Free Applications
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.
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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.