Microsoft has produced many great programs over the years and most of them cost a pretty penny however some of their software is release free of charge to help enhance your computing experience! Here are some real good 'gems' that we found at Microsoft.com, all of which are  downloadable for free. We are sure you will definitely find a few on this list, you never knew Microsoft made.

ActiveSync
ActiveSync keeps your Outlook, Videos, Music and Office documents in sync with Smartphones and Windows Pocket PC's.

Windows Movie Maker
Windows Movie Maker is a full fledged movie editing tool designed for easy use. Features compression, special effects and burning to a CD. Not as user-friendly as 'iMovie' for the Mac, but very powerful nevertheless.

Virtual PC
Emulates a PC inside a PC, so you can run multiple operating systems in one PC at the same time. No need for dual boot. Great for  testing Linux or installing testing multiple operating systems without crashing or formatting your existing OS.

Taskswitch Power Toy - For Windows XP
The Taskswitch Power Toy is really cool 'Alt-tab' replacement that shows the preview of the application you are swtiching too. Works great when you have two sessions of one applicaiton open.

Location Finder
Microsoft Location Finder is a client-side application that turns a regular WiFi enabled laptop, Tablet or PC into a location determining device without the addition of any separate hardware.

Virtual Desktop Manager
Runs upto 4 virtual desktop screens on a Windows machine.

eBook Reader
Microsoft eBook reader with ClearType for flicker free ebook reading.

My Font Tool
Converts your handwriting into a TrueType font.

Diagnostic Tools
Microsoft offers a variety of 'free' tools for diagnosing and trouble shooting problems. Here are a few of the best we found:

1. Memory Diaganostic for RAM,
2. Network Diagnostic Tool,
3. Port reporter,
4. Fiddler for HTTP diagnosis.

Photo Story
Build virtual stories (slideshows) with  pictures, digital images, sound tracks and special effects.

Conference XP
Virtual Collaboration tool for Windows XP. Collaborate on Powerpoint presentations and electronic whiteboard.  Currently a research project at Microsoft .

Progmgry
Detects if network sniffers are running on your network. Network administrators will love this.

Group Shot
Group Shot can make composite group photo from a series of photos and images.

Baseline Security Analyzer
Make remote and local security scans on Windows machines. Reports missing security updates and service packs.

Media Capture
Video and Audio capturing tool with un-compressed AVI and Surround sound capturing ability.

Windows Defender
Formerly called Windows Antispyware, the Windows Defender protects against spyware and website pop-ups.

Windows Media Encoder
Windows Media Encoder is a powerful tool for capturing audio and video content with  high-quality multichannel sound, high-definition video quality and support for mixed-mode voice and music content.  There is also a studio edition for power users available free.

Virtual ISO mounter
Mounts ISO files as virtual CD/DVD drives. Works great for games and other  type of applications, which require original CD's in the drive.

Virtual WiFi
Simultaneously connect to different Wi-Fi networks at the same time. This is an amazing tool. Highly recommended.

Fingerprint Logon
Why type when you can use your finger. All you need is a fingerprint reader and this software to logon to Windows.

Calculator Plus
The Power calculator with mathematical and scientific functions.

Producer 2003
Powertool for Microsoft PowerPoint users.

ClearType Tuner
Tweaks the fonts to give better resolution and easy-readability  on laptop's and LCD screens.