Links

As a big fan of Open Source software, the list below is free software that I use on a regular basis and recommend highly!

Imaging Applications

  • GIMP - A free, open-source version of Photoshop.
  • Photoleap - An AI imaging application.
  • Andrea Mosaic - Create photomosaics for free.
  • DICOM Viewer - View medical image formats.
  • CrazyBump - A site to create bump maps, reflection maps, and normal maps.
  • FlowCode - A site to create free QR codes and FlowPages.
  • Inkscape - Inkscape is a free and open-source vector graphics editor used to create vector images, primarily in Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) format.

Web Programming Tools

  • CodePen - A free, online code editor.
  • Python 3 - Programming / scripting language
  • Temurin JDK - OpenJDK for backend development
  • NodeJS - For web / frontend development

DevOps

  • Sublime Text - Excellent editor
  • Visual Studio Code - More/better features for developers like Git integration, debugger, etc.
  • Git - Version control
  • VirtualBox - For running virtual machines
  • Docker - For running containers, like PostgreSQL or MariaDB.
  • Vagrant is designed for everyone as the simplest and fastest way to create a virtualized environment.
  • Ansible is an open source IT automation engine that automates provisioning, configuration management, application deployment, orchestration, and many other IT processes.
  • Terraform is an infrastructure as code tool that enables you to safely and predictably provision and manage infrastructure in any cloud.
  • Pulumi - Author infrastructure code using programming languages you know and love. Write statements to define infrastructure using your IDE with autocomplete, type checking, and documentation.

Windows Applications

The Best Free Software of 2023
  • Audacity - Audacity is the world's most popular audio editing and recording app.
  • VLC media player - VLC is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files, and various streaming protocols.
  • Discord - Discord is the easiest way to talk over voice, video, and text.
  • Google Earth Pro - Google Earth Pro on desktop is available for users with advanced feature needs.
  • Plex TV - Plex is the first-and-only streaming platform to offer free ad-supported movies, shows, and live TV. 
  • Blender - Blender is the free and open source 3D creation suite. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline—modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking, even video editing and game creation.
  • LibreOffice - LibreOffice is free and open source software originally based on OpenOffice.  It is the most actively developed OpenOffice.org successor project.
  • Mozilla Firefox - Firefox Developer Tools is a set of web developer tools built into Firefox. You can use them to examine, edit, and debug HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
  • Teracopy - A free utility designed to copy files faster and more secure. It can verify copied files to ensure they are identical.
  • EarTrumpet - multi-application volume control.
  • KeePass is a free open source password manager. Passwords can be stored in an encrypted database, which can be unlocked with one master key.
  • Calibre for e-book management / multi-format conversion.
  • WizTree - so you don't grow old and die waiting for WinDirStat.
  • Macrium Reflect 8 Free to image your system before every Patch Tuesday.
  • Sumatra PDF is a very lightweight PDF / e-book reader.
  • Signal - encrypted communication software for Windows, Mac, Android, and iPhone.
  • Eraser for securely deleting sensitive data.
  • qBittorrent for downloading / sharing large files.
  • MusicBee is a music player with tons of features.
  • Electric Sheep - Electric Sheep is a collaborative abstract artwork screensaver run by thousands of people all over the world.