LaTeX
LaTeX is a cool type-setting programme that I use. It is free to use/download, and offers templates for journals in the sciences (e.g., Elsevier journals). It is really cool for equation editing and formatting of documents, and I would recommend it to all. Once you get used to the programming language and its idiosyncrasies, I guarantee your Word days will be over, and you'll never look back! There are loads of on-line forums etc. to guide you through the initial complexities, so give it a go.
r
r is quite simply the best stats/graphics programme available. If you look at my stats page you will see some introductory code to get you started. It is completely free to use/download.
Mozilla Thunderbird
Great email client by Mozilla. Nice free alternative to Outlook. Will sync with all the usual mail providers.
www.coursra.org
I plagiarized this from their website: one of my favourite online resources; would highly recommend to everyone wishing to enrich their knowledge!
Coursera are a social entrepreneurship company that partners with the top universities in the world to offer courses online for anyone to take, for free. They envision a future where the top universities are educating not only thousands of students, but millions. Their technology enables the best professors to teach tens or hundreds of thousands of students.
Through this, they hope to give everyone access to the world-class education that has so far been available only to a select few. They want to empower people with education that will improve their lives, the lives of their families, and the communities they live in.