I don't know how fancy of a pdf creator you need, but you can use openoffice (writer) and just click "file -> export as pdf".

Ya i can do that with office 2007.
Problem i am having is that images that are inserted in a doc don't transfer well when converted, i meed to be able to place the images directly in to the pdf. I haven't tried printing to PDF yet though...

I use CutePDF.

Open Office will also export to pdf.

AlienGUIse, WXP/Vista themes by alienware

http://www.alienware.com/community/a...e-manager.aspx

What about printing solutions?
Looking for something to ..create and print professional-looking business forms, business cards, letterhead, envelopes, labels and checks postcards right from your computer.

thx for this, def. should be stickied

Office has gotten much better at this with the later versions.

The software isn't the issue here as kerowo just said Office is fine. The trick is mostly in stock selection.

Yup, spend a little money and get some texture and heft to your paper and it will look professional. Getting business cards printed is fairly cheap and nothing you can do at home will look as good.

This should be stickied.

Also any burning alternative?
Something akin to NERO

ImgBurn <3

+1 for ImgBurn

One I'm surprised hasn't been mentioned, unless I've just missed it is Wireshark. Probably not a lot of use to those without a decent amount of networking knowledge (though definitely a good way to play around and learn some things), but in my mind its one of the top couple examples of just how useful and feature packed FOSS software can be. For those unfamiliar with it, its a sniffing/packet capture and analysis tool. I've used it for years and am still finding features all the time that make my job easier. One of the best troubleshooting tools out there and like I said its ability to follow individual flows and conversations and even reconstruct things like web page views and histories are a great way to help visualize and learn more about just whats going on when it comes to networking.

http://www.wireshark.org/

Can anybody recommend a DVD ripper?

Handbrake