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Written by Stew
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Friday, 21 September 2007 |
Having blogged about the top ten esoteric Open Source applications I've finally got around compiling my own. Most of 'em are pretty well known and some will be damnright famous but I reckon I've included a few less well known favourites of mine that may just become favourites of yours too.
Here we go. In reverse order.
No.10.
FFDShow
"ffdshow is DirectShow and VFW codec for decoding/encoding many video and audio formats, including DivX and XviD movies using libavcodec, xvid and other opensourced libraries with a rich set of postprocessing filters".
A cracking little program that means you'll never have to install another codec again. I believe it's less CPU intensive than using a regular Xvid/Divx codec and has lots of post-processing filters that allow you to tweak the way in which the video is played.
No.9
Pidgin
"Pidgin is a multi-protocol Instant Messaging client that allows you to use all of your IM accounts at once".
I'm not a huge fan of instant messaging, but if I was, this baby would be much higher up the list. Regardless of whether you use Yahoo, MSN, AIM, IRC or any of the sixteen IM protocols supported by Pidgin, this application speaks all languages and allows you to chat with anyone, in one simple interface.
N0.8
VLC Player
"VLC media player is a highly portable multimedia player for various audio and video formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3, ogg, ...) as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols".
A popular favourite for those who like no-nonsense media players that just get the job done. VLC plays absolutely everything, including DVDs. I prefer the GUI on Classic Media Player but VLC edges it because reliability is king.
No.7
Foxit Reader
"Foxit Reader is a free PDF document viewer and printer, with incredible small size (only 2.1 M download size), breezing-fast launch speed and amazingly rich feature set".
Adobe Acrobat Reader does an excellent job too, sure. Foxit uses less CPU and goes about its business very quietly and efficiently without making a fuss. I've been using it for a while now and I don't miss Acrobat one bit. Super wee program.
No.6
VobSub
"VOBSUB is a filter for Media Player that can load subtitles (ssa, sub, srt, vobsub, ...) into movies being played. VobSub will works with ALL video players".
Does exactly what it says on the tin. Allows you also to modify subtitle playback and change the font and position of your subtitles. Super stuff.
No.5
Audacity
"Audacity is a free, easy-to-use audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems"
I was a huge fan Sony's Sound Forge for years, even though I only really used it for rather basic tasks. After finding Audacity there was no turning back. Again, it's no nonsense approach and sheer simplicity makes it an absolute gem.
No.4
DVD Shrink
"DVD Shrink is software to backup DVD discs. You can use this software in conjunction with DVD burning software of your choice, to make a backup copy of any DVD video disc"
Backing up DVDs used be to such a trial. With dual-layer disks becoming the norm on commercially released films, DVD Shrink came to the rescue. It literally shrinks the DVD file down to size you can burn to disk, allowing you legally back up your own DVD collection with relative ease.
No.3
MusicBrainz - Classic Tagger
"The MusicBrainz Classic Tagger application allows you to automatically look up the tracks in your music collection and then write clean meta-data tags (ID3 tags or Vorbis comment fields) to your files. As you tag the files in your collection that MusicBrainz didn't recognize, you submit the acoustic fingerprints (TRM IDs) of your files back to the server. Submitting acoustic fingerprints will allow MusicBrainz to automatically identify these tracks in the future, so that other people using the Tagger can benefit from the work you have done"
So my MP3 collection is in a mess. Having used different ripping tools over the years and neglected to take care of all the meta-data that helps one to keep ones music collection sane, I needed help. And boy did MusicBrainz help. It keeps records of perhaps millions of mp3s, or at least there 'acoustic fingerprints' and allows you to completely reorganise your MP3s according to artist, album, track, genre etc. Fantastic. Your mp3 collection will never be the same.
No.2
OpenOffice 2.3
"OpenOffice.org is a multiplatform and multilingual office suite and an open-source project. Compatible with all other major office suites, the product is free to download, use, and distribute'.
Not that I use OpenOffice exclusively - my job keeps me familiar with other productivity software - but when I do use it I feel in awe of just how well it's come along in recent years. It really takes the biscuit in terms of giving people what they want and allowing everybody who has a PC to possess the tools needed to learn, study or do business. A great enabler.
No.1
Firefox 2.7
"The award-winning Web browser is now faster, more secure, and fully customizable to your online life. With Firefox 2, we’ve added powerful new features that make your online experience even better."
Well I realize how predictable it must seem, but honestly. It is the single most important software that I use. Seriously. I seem to spend my whole life using firefox. I've no idea where I'd be without it. The selection of plugins is vast, the customizability of it is unending, and most tests show that it also uses less CPU than its rivals.
Firefox and OpenOffice for me both opitomize what open source is all about. Quality software that humans need and should have regardless of how much money is in their pocket.
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Visitor
Thursday, 27 September 2007
Pidgen blows... Trillian is way better!
Know-it-all
Thursday, 27 September 2007
and Meebo is best because its online based.
Stew
Friday, 28 September 2007
Although Trillian is of course an excellent piece of software. it is not really open source or free in the truest sense because it is a commercial venture. They want you to buy the pro version. Meebo is great too and based on Pidgin, just rewritten to go in your browser. Thanks guys. Your opinions are more than welcome.
