List of Free and Open-Source Must-Haves

11/11/2005

Yesterday I got a new computer at one of my workplaces. As normal in this situation, I've spent a fair chunk of time over the last two days installing software, fitting the system out with everything I need to work happily and well.

I thought it might be a useful thing to list all the free and open-source software that I consider must-have for a new system. It's not comprehensive, and it's not meant to be: this is a list of the programs I personally use or have had recommended to me.

(Note that I'm talking Windows XP in this situation. I'm a linux fan as much as the next guy, but this computer was supplied by work for use with windows - let's leave it at that and get on with the list. )

 

Mozilla Firefox

The replacement for Internet Explorer, this is the big number 1 on my list of open- source must-haves. Firefox has many advantages over the current version of IE, including tabbed browsing, themes, high security and correct css rendering.

Free download: http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/

 

Mozilla Thunderbird

The sister of Firefox, Thunderbird is an email client to replace outlook. It doesn't have as many advantages over its competitor as Firefox does over IE, but it is a very mature and complete program that's also open-source.

Free download: http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/

 

The GIMP

GIMP is an open-source image-manipulation program. It's similar to Photoshop. Realistically, at this stage it's about the quality of Photoshop 6. That means it doesn't do some of the funkier effects and layer manipulations that Photoshop will now do, nor does it handle print colour spaces. However, despite this it is a very functional piece of software that can be used to edit photos and create digital art.

Free download: follow the links from http://www.gimp.org/windows/

 

Blender 3d

I love Blender. This is a fully-functional 3d modeling, animation and rendering suite that competes well with the best commercial 3d suites available. It has large user and developer communities that are very active: new stable versions are released every few months.

I use Blender for work (see my 3d page) but anyone can get it, follow some tutes to get quickly up to speed, and start creating awesome 3d artwork.

Free download: http://www.blender3d.com/cms/Blender.31.0.html

 

Python

Python is a scripting language that's easy to learn and very powerful. Useful for automating all of those mundane, monotonous tasks that computers should be made to do, as well creating small standalone apps or whatever else you feel like. You can also use Python to script within Blender.

Free download: http://www.python.org/download/

 

Yafray

A high-class renderer that can be used automatically from within Blender. Yafray can produce excellent photo-realistic renders and handles lots of funky options like caustics and nice auto GI.

Free download: http://www.yafray.org/index.php

 

Open Office

This is another popular open-source software suite that has been around for ages and just keeps getting better and better. Open Office is a full office suite containing a word processor, spreadsheet, datashow designer etc. It can read and write Microsoft's file types, so you can easily fit in with everyone else who's using Microsoft products like Word and Excel.

Free download: http://download.openoffice.org/2.0.0/index.html

 

iPodder Lemon

This takes care of signing up to podcast feeds and downloading all your latest audio goodies. I love this system, and I don't even have a portable mp3 player - I just play them on my computer.

Free download: http://ipodder.sourceforge.net/

 

Gaim

Gaim is an open-source instant messenger that can communicate with a few different messaging systems. So you can use the same program to talk to your friends who use MSN, AOL, ICQ, SKYPE or one of numerous other formats. Nice. And no pesky advertisements.

Free download: http://gaim.sourceforge.net/downloads.php

 

Filezilla

FileZilla is an open-source ftp client, and it is the best I have used. Among its advantages are that it clear and logical, making it easy to understand while still offering many advanced features. So much to love.

Free download: http://filezilla.sourceforge.net/

 

Scite

A free, open-source text editor that will colour your code when you're using it to edit script files. Very handy and very lightweight, beats Notepad hands down.

Free download: http://scintilla.sourceforge.net/SciTEDownload.html

 

7zip

7zip is compression software that can handle most other compression types - so you can download all sorts of files and not have to worry about how to uncompress them - as well as having it's own super-compression.

Free download: http://www.7-zip.org/

 

Free Download Manager

A download manager and accelerator that fits in with your favourite browser and helps you organise, schedule and speed up your downloads.

Free download: http://www.freedownloadmanager.org/download.htm

 

Adobe Acrobat Reader

Pdf files are a standard way of passing rich text around. The reader is free. Especially useful when you're installing lots of other software as manuals now often come in pdf format on cd.

Free download: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

 

Flash Player

Likewise, flash is a very popular way of delivering interactive content on the internet and via cd. The player is free and will integrate automatically into your browser. A necessity if you want to be able to browse the web properly.

Free download: http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/

 

DivX codec and player

DivX is a very handy format for compressing video. With this free download of the codec and player you can play DivX encoded clips and also write to the divX compression format with your favourite video editor.

Free download: http://www.divx.com/divx/play/download/

 

Audacity

This is a free, open-source audio recorder and editor. It offers multitrack editing, which means you can mix your own beats then record yourself throat-singing over the top. If you want to.

Audacity: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

 

Bittorrent downloader

Bittorrent is way of filesharing that shares the burden of hosting files around to many users. Great way for the community to support open-source projects and it can be considerably faster to download things this way as well.

Free download: http://www.bittorrent.com/

 

Winamp

Winamp is an audio player much like Windows Media Player, only it's slightly slicker and more appealing.

Free download: http://www.winamp.com/player/free.php

 

Spybot S&D

Gets rid of potentially nasty programs that might install themselves on your computer.

Free download: http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/

 

Webwasher Classic

This is a free program that protects your privacy and security while online as well as resricting your access to selected sites. Use it with lists of known porn sites to create censorware that stops your computer from accessing what it shouldn't.

Free for personal use download: http://www.cyberguard.com/products/webwasher
Instructions and files needed to use it as censorware: http://www.pacificnet.net/~bbruce/access_control.htm

 

AVG anti-virus software

I must admit I don't use this one, preferring to pay for VET anti-virus. However, this is free for personal or educational use and seems to have a good rep - so go for it.

Free for personal use download: http://free.grisoft.com/doc/2/lng/us/tpl/v5

 

 

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