I realized (when talking to some friends of mine about technology and where it was heading and stuff of that nature) that there were a lot of applications that make my day-to-day computer experience more efficient. Here are the 4 big ones! And… they’re free… (click graphics for links)

1) Skype – With the decline of land-line use, I propose that internet voice chat will soon take its place as the stationary form of spoken communication. Instant messaging programs which also do voice and video chat provide the computer user with a way to virtually be in the same room. Conference calls are also a breeze with this kind of setup, as is sharing information, since you are always a click away from opening your browser. I feel this app is pretty popular and might be considered a gimme.

2) Google Docs – There are lots of useful stuff from Google, mainly the search engine and google mail. But I find docs to be just as useful as gmail, and mostly because it saves it in a way that is always accessible. Collaboration on docs is very easy and it’s great for group projects. Everything can be organized in folders and labeled and… as I just said, all you need is a browser to get at them.

3) Dropbox – I used this program to help sync some files I wanted to use on both my Mac and Windows partitions (or if I accidentally downloaded them in one OS and needed them in the other). Basically, this app copies everything in a specified folder to the server online. The files are always backed up and you can easily share them with people by simply right-clicking on them and getting the link. So handy!

4) Skitch – This app is screen capture wizardry. It lets you capture anything on your screen in a variety of ways, edit it/draw on it, and then share it on the web with anyone. It’s really fast and easy once you’ve installed.

I see all four apps helping me in both work and personal settings – they all back up the files remotely and deal with communication and media that surpasses what simple email or instant messaging can accomplish. Oh, and they are all FREE! (Really, what’s not to like about that?)