Alternative to Microsoft Visio?

[geeknik]

In my Designing for User Experience class we use Visio to create wireframes. However, I don't want to buy it just to do my homework at home but I don't want to be stuck using the computer labs at school either.

So is there an open source alternative that is just as good or better than Visio that you'd recommend?

Thanks for any suggestions.

[Phreaddee]

Pen + paper works well for me.
In particular, get one of those gridbooks for maths.
Very handy...

[chrishirst]

Wonderful things are search engines!!!!

http://mashable.com/2010/07/15/wireframing-tools/

[RobSchmidt]

You can try Dia as an open source alternative to Visio.

Since I usually do more than just wireframes, I tend to prefer SmartDraw as a Visio alternative (http://www.smartdraw.com/specials/visio-vs-smartdraw.htm)

[rumrunner]

Another great Visio (https://www.lucidchart.com/pages/tour/visio_alternative/) alternative is Lucidchart.

You can use hotspots and state changes.

[rumbling]

I think the answer to do this depends on what you're currently doing / or want to do.
If you want a specific diagram type ( eg: mind maps only ) then it's best to use a specialized tool for it.
I use Creately (http://creately.com/visio-alternative-online) because I want to UML, Mind maps, ER diagrams and many other related to software engineering