Open source applications
I wrote this list back in 2005. The following are open source applications you should know, but there are many more that haven’t been added to this list. Even for seasoned purveyors of open source there might be a couple new gems here.
Browsers
Mozilla Firefox
The only browser you’ll ever need. Tabs, pop-up blocking, themes, and extensions. Considered by most to be the world’s best browser.
Download Page
Amaya Browser for Windows
W3C developed web browser and editor for multiple platforms. I’ve used this. It seems like it has a ways to go as a browser, but the Editor is pretty solid.
Download Page
HTML Editor
Nvu
A solid HTML editor simple enough for a newb who needs a better editor for blogging or whatever and powerful enough for an HTML-monkey. Download Page
Instant Messaging
Gaim
A simple IM client that connects to multiple IM services simultaneously, including: AIM, MSN, IRC, and Jabber.
Download Page
Email Clients
Mozilla Thunderbird
An excellent mail client that has effective spam filtering, a clean user interface, and everything you could ever want or need from a mail client, including a nice RSS reader.
Download Page
RSS Readers
BlogBridge
A really nice cross-platform aggregator. Download Page
RSSOwl
A feature rich cross-platform RSS client, but it’s Java and is pretty slow.
Download Page
Graphics and Photo Editing
GIMP
A rich photo editing application that is easily as feature rich as Adobe’s Photoshop.
Download Page
Paint.net
A powerful .NET based graphics editor with a decent interface.
Download Page
Inkscape
Vector graphics editor with native SVG support.
Download Page
Video Players
VLC
I’ve not tried this app, but I’ve heard it recommended a couple times. I checked it out and it plays all the usual formats: AVI, OGG, Quicktime, DIVX, and others.
Download Page
Media Player Classic
Just want you need. Does all you could ask for.
Download Page
Video Editing
Jahshaka! I love the name of this project. Here is the download page.
Office Suites
OpenOffice.org
A must have. This full featured suite includes word processing, presentation, and spreadsheets. It’s fully compatible with Microsoft Office and supports OpenDocument Format. Keep in mind you will periodically have formatting problems going between
Download Page
Podcasting
Juice
Decent podcast client.
Download Page
DVD Ripping
Handbrake
DVD to MPEG-4 ripper/converter.
Download Page
Audio Recording
Audacity
Audio recording and editing tool.
Download Page
Internet TV / Video Podcasting
Democracy Player
This is a really slick app. I’ve tried it out. I’m not sure how useful it is when you have a Video iPod though. At any rate you can subscribe to Vlogs and watch the feeds. It has a built-in channel guide and I read it supports torrents too. They’ve done a beautiful job with the interface.
Download Page
Filesharing
Azureus
The only BitTorrent client you’ll ever need. If you don’t know what a BitTorrent is go read about it.
Download Page
FTP / SFTP
Filezilla
The old standby. It has some usability issues. I don’t think anything approaches SmartFTP in its excellence, but Filezilla is a solid FTP client.
Download Page
IRC
X-Chat 2
It’s hard to back this client being that the latest versions require a purchase, but it’s still the best IRC client I’ve used.
Download Page
MP3 and Audio Tools
MP3 Gain
MP3 manipulation tool.
Download Page
MP3 Book Helper
Mp3/Ogg/Speex/Flac Vorbis tagging and editing as well as file renaming functions.
Download Page
musikCube
Open Source .NET MP3 Player, ripper and organizer.
Download Page
Mapping Tools
Nasa World Wind
Open source .NET mapping application that’s similar to Google Earth.
Stars and Outer Space
Celestia
Open-source 3D planetarium software.
Download Page
Stellarium
This application is remarkable. It renders the night sky in real-time. The software is used in real planetariums.
Download Page
Mind Mapping and Charting
Freemind
This is a great note-taking application. It’s really just mindmaps. It dumps data to SVG, XML, HTML. Excellent for mapping out deliverables or todo lists.
Download Page
Dia for Windows
Open source Visio clone. This is very useful in flowcharting and in architectural diagrams.
Download Page
Personal Finance
Quasar
Simple accounting application.
Download Page
TurboCASH
Simple, personal finance application.
Download Page
Security Tools
NMap
Port scanner for Windows.
Download Page
Ethereal
Network Protocol Analyzer.
Download Page
TrueCrypt
Makes encrypted virtual hard drives.
Download Page
ClamWin
Although real-time scanning isn’t fully implemented yet this open source Anti-Virus application is good capable.
Download Page
Eraser
Delete your files securely utilizing Department of Defense standards.
Download Page
Developer tools
SharpDevelop
IDE for the .NET/Mono Framework.
Download Page
CodeBlocks
C++ IDE that is able to use the Visual Studios Toolkit 2003
Download Page
Miscellaneous Utilities
PDFCreator
An easy way to quickly create PDFs from
your documents and files. Download Page
For a significantly more complete list go to OSALT.
