A list of open software

This post is dedicated to a list of software I am using (or tracking in case I need more functionality to process data). Nowadays there is so much software that it is difficult to choose anything for personal needs. So I decided to create this list to keep track of the programs that might be very helpful. By default, all programs are open source and freely available for Windows, Linux, and macOS. However, some are distributed under restrictions, which is indicated near the program. The ones that are dedicated to working with online resources (Brave, OnlyOffice) are also available for Android and iOS. LibreOffice and Firefox, available under Mozilla Public License 2.0, are well known, so there is no reason to give more description for them.

  • Internet
  1. Brave (Mozilla Public License 2.0) - another browser, which blocks much more stuff and has better protection compared to Firefox over the internet. However, according to my experience, sometimes it does not display the content correctly. So I am using it together with Firefox.
  • Office
  1. OnlyOffice (Affero General Public License v3.0) - another free office. This office is more an alternative to google docs than MS Office, since it allows collaborative documents modifications through various shared resources.
  • Image processing

  1. GIMP (General Public License v3.0) - an image manipulation program for raster graphics. It has various tools for selecting, editing and filtering elements, as well as plugins and extensions.

  2. Inkscape (General Public License v2.0) - an image manipulation program for vector graphics. It has various tools related to manipulating the vector objects on images.

  3. Fiji (General Public License v3.0) - a 3d image processing program for raster graphics. The important feature is that software supports plugins, which can be easily added. A plugin can be written with one of several programming languages, and the software has a huge list of API functions to access the image.

  • Image creating
  1. Krita (General Public License v3.0) - a tool to draw images. It has a lot of features that help to create images and animations.
  • Audio processing

  1. Audacity (General Public License v3.0) - a rather lightweight library that can filter and clean audio records, as well as add certain effects to the voice.

  2. Ardour, LMMS (General Public License v2.0-v3.0) - a more advanced software. In addition to different features, they allow recording from microphone and also simulate several digital instruments.

  • Video processing
  1. Kdenlive (General Public License v3.0) - a lightweight tool to process videos, combine them and add audio recordings. It does not have a lot of functionality, but enough to create nice videos.
  • Mesh (3d model) processing

  1. Blender (General Public License v3.0) - a powerful 3d computer graphics tool. It allows creating animations and visual effects. One essential moment is that Blender allows selecting and performing manipulation only for a subset of the model.

  2. Paraview (BSD 3-clause license) - a 3d model post-processing and visualization engine. It might process polygonal (not only triangular) and unstructured meshes. But all modifications are done through filters, so the manual modifications are limited. In Paraview, it is also easy to create animations from a set of meshes.

  3. Meshlab (General Public License v3.0) - a simpler 3d mesh processing tool. However, it contains certain processing options that are not available either in Paraview or in Blender. The modifications are also usually done through different filters.

  • Mesh (3d model) creating
  1. Gmsh (General Public License v2.0-v3.0) - a simple 2 and 3d (superficial and volumetric) mesh generator. The shape of a generated object is described with surfaces using an input file with a specific format. The format is not trivial, but there is a possibility of specifying it as a program script, for example in Python via pygmsh.
  • Simulation and extended reality / gaming creating

  1. SOFA (Lesser General Public License v2.1) - an open framework for real-time multi-physics simulations, with a main focus on robotics and medical applications. It includes a visual renderer to observe the simulation and different plugins to extent its functionality with advanced techniques.

  2. Godot (Expat/MIT License) - a free engine to create games and virtual reality systems in 2d or 3d. Supports several programming languages to make game scripts.

  • Other applications
  1. Stellarium (General Public License v2.0) - an open planetarium. It allows observing and searching astronomical objects in the sky as well as going back or forward through time to see where those objects were or will be.
  • System applications (work almost only with Linux), Windows and macOS have their own tools to track and process the system.

  1. Stacer (General Public License v3.0) - a Linux optimization tool and system monitor that has functionality similar to windows task manager. There is a possibility of managing applications, system processes, and installed software (only for .deb based package managers).

  2. timeshift (General Public License v3.0) - a system restoration tool. Support creating environmental snapshots and restoring them for the working and not working systems. In the latter case, the restoration is performed through live CD or USB systems.

  3. htop (General Public License v2.0), btop (Apache License v2.0) - command line interactive resource monitors. Btop has a nicer interface and tracks slightly more stuff, but it is not included by default in Linux distributions.

  4. vokoscreenNG (General Public License v2.0) - (also available for Windows) - a simple tool to capture screenshots and screen videos.

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