Graphic Design Software (See video)
Gimp – Bitmap image editor similar to Adobe Photoshop.(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Inkscape – Vector image editor/creator similar to Adobe Illustrator
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Scribus – Desktop publisher similar to Adobe InDesign or QuarkxPress
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
FontForge – Font creator/editor and can change font formats
(Open-Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Dia – Diagram creation tool. Flow charts, circuit diagrams, etc…
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
gPick – Color scheme generator and palette editor
(Open Source, Win / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Digital Photography and Image Software (See video)
digiKam – Manage and edit digital photos similar to Adobe Lightroom(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
ufRaw – Raw image reader/editor, that can integrate with GIMP
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
PhotoRec – Recover deleted files from memory cards or hard drives
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials) *No GUI
GreenShot – Screen capture tool with custom options
(Open Source, Windows Only, Get Download, View Tutorials)
IrfanView – Batch image re-size, rename, re-format, crop, etc…
(Free for Personal Use, Windows Only, Get Download, View Tutorials)
PixResizer – Easy to use batch image re-sizer, rename, re-format tool
(Free for Personal Use, Windows Only, Get Download, View Tutorials)
ImageMagicK – Batch image re-size, rename, re-format, crop, etc…
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials) *No GUI
…for photo editing, see also GIMP, under Graphic Design Software…
Web Design and Development Software (See video)
KompoZer – Web-page creator/editor similar to Adobe Dreamweaver(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Ninja (Preview) – HTML5 Authoring Tools and Web App Creator
(Open Source, Chrome Extension, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Notepad++ – Text editor and source code editor with features
(Open Source, Window Only, Get Download, View Tutorials)
FileZilla – File Transfer Protocol, FTP, client and server
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
XAMPP – Server Package. Apache Server, MySQL Database, PHP&Perl Interpreters
(*Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Eclipse IDE – Development Environment for java, javascript, C, python, PHP, and more
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
*you can find related tools on my pages for free browser extensions and free web apps.
Animation and Cartoon Software, 2D (See video)
Pencil – Simple 2D Cartoon Animation and Drawing Program(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Tupi – Simple 2D Cartoon Animation and Drawing Program
(Open Source, Linux Only, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Scratch – Educational tool to teach kids programming skills
(Open-Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Synfig Studio – Advanced 2D Animation and Drawing Program
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
unFREEz – Animated GIF creation utility (*Note: Gimp can also do this)
(Open Source, Windows Only, Get Download, View Tutorials)
*for creating backgrounds and characters for animations, see also Inkscape and Gimp.
Modeling, Animation, and Design Software, 3D (See video)
Blender – 3D Modeling software similar to Maya or 3ds Max(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
SweetHome3D – 2D and 3D Interior design software
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
BRLCAD – Solid Modeling Software
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
FreeCAD – General purpose 3D CAD Program
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
SketchUp – Easy to learn and use 3D modeling program
(Free and Paid Versions, Win / Mac, Get Download, View Tutorials)
*for building charts and diagrams for CAD, see also Dia.
Video Editing, and Special Effects Software (See video)
Avidemux – Video editing software(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Lightworks – Video editing software
(Open Source, Windows Only, Get Download, View Tutorials)
kdenlive – Video editing software
(Open Source, Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Cinelerra – Video editor and special effects similar to Adobe After Effects
(Open Source, Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Openshot – Video editing software
(Open Source, Linux Only, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Web-cam and Screen Recording Software (See video)
CamStudio – Screen recording tool. Make screen-casts from your computer(Open Source, Windows Only, Get Download, View Tutorials)
RecordMyDesktop – Screen recording tool for making screen-cast videos
(Open Source, Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
iSpy – Camera security software for web-cams, IPcams, mics, etc…
(Open Source, Windows Only, Get Download, View Tutorials)
BigBlueButton – Remote Meeting Software similar to GoToMeeting
(Open Source, Web Based, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Cheese – Webcam software for video and picture capture, plus effects
(Open Source, Linux Only, Get Download, View Tutorials)
*for streaming and capturing web-cam video, see also VLC Media Player.
Music and Audio Tools (See video)
Audacity – Audio recording and editing tool(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
LMMS – Digital audio work station similar to FL Studios
(Open Source, Win / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Ardour – Digital audio work station similar to FL Studios
(Open Source, Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
MIXXX – Digital DJing software for playing/mixing music
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Spek – Audio file analyzer and spectrogram viewer
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
*for creating .wav and .midi drum beats, see also Hydrogen.
Music Composition and Notation Tools (See video)
TuxGuitar – Sheet music composition program for guitar tab, and more(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
MuseScore – Tool for editing and composing sheet music
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
LilyPond – Traditional quality sheet music engraving software
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Denemo – Sheet music composer and editor. Front-end to LilyPond
(Open Source, Win / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Hydrogen – Pattern based drum machine. Create beats and rhythms
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
*for a player that supports MIDI playback, see also Media Player Classic.
CD, DVD, BluRay, and Encoding Tools (See video)
Handbrake – DVD and BlueRay disc ripping and video trans-coding(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
InfraRecorder – CD and DVD burning software
(Open Source, Windows Only, Get Download, View Tutorials)
WinCDEmu – CD/DVD/BD emulator. Allows you to mount disc images
(Open Source, Windows Only, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Mediacoder – Universal audio and video trans-coder
(Free for P&C Use, Win / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
*for another CD/DVD/BluRay Disc ripping and capture tool, see also VLC Media Player.
*for another audio CD ripping tool, see also MediaMonkey.
Media Players and Collection Organizers (See video)
Songbird – Music player and media library organizer similar to iTunes(Open Source, Win / Mac, Get Download, View Tutorials)
MediaMonkey – Music player and media library organizer similar to iTunes
(Free/Paid, Win / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
XBMC – Home media center player and collection organizer
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux / OS, Get Download, View Tutorials)
VLC – Media player+ Rip dvds, play damaged files, stream web-cam…
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Calibre – E-book library management and conversion tool
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Foobar2000 – Lightweight audio player for windows
(Free, Windows Only, Get Download, View Tutorials)
MediaPlayerClassic – Simple video and audio media player
(Open Source, Windows Only, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Business and General Productivity Software (See video)
GNUCash – Financial accounting software similar to QuickBooks(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
OpenProj – Project management software similar to Microsoft Project
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Freemind – Mind-mapping and idea organization/sharing tool
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Rapidminer – Data Mining environment. Machine learning, Analysis…
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
LibreOffice – Office productivity suite similar to Microsoft Office
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Document and PDF Editing Tools (See video)
SumatraPDF – Fast and lightweight PDF and document viewer(Open Source, Windows Only, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Okular – Universal documents viewer. PDF, Postscript, XPS, ePub…+
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
PDFsam – Split and/or merge PDF files
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
PDFCreator – Lets you ‘print’ to a PDF file. Installs a virtual printer
(Open Source, Windows Only, Get Download, View Tutorials)
FreeOCR – Convert text from an image or scanned document into editable text
(Free for P&C Use, Windows Only, Get Download, View Tutorials)
*for PDF editing and creation, see also LibreOffice and Scribus
*to search for words within multiple PDF documents, see also DocFetcher
Data Privacy and Cryptography Software (See video)
KeePassX – Password manager and encrypted user info database(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
TrueCrypt – Disk and file encryption software
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
CrypTool – Tool to learn cryptography and crypt-analysis
(Open Source, Windows Only, Get Download, View Tutorials)
jCrypTool – Tool to learn cryptography and crypt-analysis
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
7zip – Archiving and file compression tool. Can encrypt / decrypt archives
(Open Source, Win / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Eraser – Can permanently delete sensitive data from your hard drive
(Open Source, Windows Only, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Browsing Stealth and Anonymity Tools (See video)
Chromium Incognito* – Stealth web browsing. No history or cookies(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Tor Browser Bundle – Protects your identity / IP while web browsing
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
PeerBlock – Firewall management program / IP Blocker
(Open Source, Windows Only, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Freenet – Decentralized communication platform. Blogs, sites, chat…
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
BleachBit – Utility for freeing disk space and deleting private data
(Open Source, Win / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Network and Communications Software (See video)
Thunderbird – Email client similar to Microsoft Office and Apple Mail(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Pidgin – Universal chat client. AIM, Google Talk, MSN, Yahoo, +more
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
OpenVPN – Virtual Private Network. Point to Point Remote Access
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
OpenRemote – Home automation control and remote software
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux / Mobile, Get Download, View Tutorials)
PuTTY – A client for SSH, Telnet, rlogin, and raw TCP protocols
(Open Source, Win / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Virtualization and Cross Platform Solutions (See video)
VirtualBox – Lets you run a virtual machine(s) on one computer(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Synergy – Control multiple computers with 1 keyboard and mouse
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
cygwin – Unix-like environment and command-line interface for Windows
(Open Source, Windows Only, Get Download, View Tutorials)
HFS Explorer – Can read Mac-formatted hard disks and disk images
(Open Source, Win / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
*for a virtual disc drive tool, to mount .iso files, see also WinCDemu.
File Search and Recovery Tools (See video)
DocFetcher – Search contents of multiple documents for words/phrases(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Agent Ransak – Search for words within a document, and for files
(Free, Windows Only, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Search Everything – Quick search tool for finding files
(Free for P&C use, Windows Only, Get Download, View Tutorials)
WinDirStat – Disk usage statistics viewer and cleanup tool
(Open Source, Windows Only, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Recuva – Recover deleted files. Has a GUI
(Free/Paid, Windows Only, Get Download, View Tutorials)
Testdisk / PhotoRec – Recover deleted files. Command-Line only tool
(Open Source, Win / Mac / Linux, Get Download, View Tutorials)
UbuntuLiveCD – Can be used to recover data from damaged or locked hard drives
(Open Source, OS Independent, Get Download, View Tutorials)
HirensBootCD – Collection of free computer diagnostic, repair, and recovery tools
(Free, OS Independent, Get Download, View Tutorials)
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