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Another excellent open-source Windows program from Russia. I simply do not understand how people can survive Windows without Far.

A few highlights:

Its built-in editor is one of the best in the world with a cool syntax highlighting plugin, column selection etc.
Seamless integration with Windows: clipboard, right-click context menus, default actions for file types, everything.
Built-in command line (unlike all those dodgy GUI commanders).
Unicode support.
Plugins: network browser, process browser, regedit, Winamp, all in a panel. Anything you can imagine.

Let's face it. The Gimp's GUI is scary for beginners. But with a little commitment and lots of RTFM you'll soon realize that the Gimp is probably the best image editing software there has ever been.
I learned quickly to dock the various toolbars to the right places, so now even my Gimp windows are manageable.
As to picture editing, it's just incredible. Just think about Colors/Curves.../Freehand.

Git would be on the podium in a "Scariest Software Ever" contest. That is, until you learn the basics, after which you realize it's extremely unbelievably easy to use.

I have to use MKS Integrity at the office, and dealing with this unstable, broken, bloated beast with its cumbersome and deeply flawed workflow makes me cry every time I think about "git commit -a".

A few highlights about git: Distribution. Speed. Offline work. Atomic commits. No hassle with individual files, as it tracks content. Easy branching. Even easier merging. Merge tracking. Command line. Various GUIs. Freedom. Work alone? Fine. Want to setup a central repo? Fine. You can do whatever you want.

This 40 year old tool is simply amazing. You can write a new calculator or a compiler in no time. The syntax is simple and beautiful.

My experience with Unix started with Cygwin's sed. I soon became a Linux fag. The combination of bash and sed: my favourite tools for quick hacks now.

According to the Cygwin homepage it's a Linux-like environment for Windows.

Well, I don't know what's Linux-like in it. It's GNU running on a Windows kernel.

But anyway, it's one of the most useful open source projects ever. It just turns your Windows box, which you're forced to use at the office, into a Unix machine.

Which is exactly what the doctor ordered.

It's funny that the best Windows software is all coming from Russia. Just think about the Far-Manager and 7-Zip.

7-Zip has the best compression. And it's two-pane GUI and it's Windows shell-integration are perfect. Right-click folder foo and "Compress to foo.7z and email", anyone?