Dark Artistry

Most people know about The Gimp, Filezilla, and Blender. because they tend to get blogged often. They are great apps but here are a few that I think need some blog love.

Utilities

Sophos AntiVirus. I use this on my Linux machine as it scans in the background and is light on resources. I know Linux is less susceptible to viruses but it’s good to be careful and certainly be conscientious of your Windows friends when sending files.

AngryIP. I like to know what’s going on in my home network, and who is connected to my WiFi! This is a great little scanner that does the job well.

3-D Tools

Dust3D. Dust is relatively new and still in beta but if you want a modeler that make the modeling process a bit quicker this may be what you’re looking for. It’s a bit of a learning experience though.

Meshroom. What can I say? It’s just cool. You take a series of photos of an object in real space and it stitches the images into a 3-D object. For an alternative take a look at Regard3D.

2-D imaging

Photivo. Photivo is a photo editing and processing tool for photographers similar to Darktable. I like the interface better. I still use RawTherapee but it’s a great alternative.

PureRef. If you do a lot of digital art or 3-D modeling this gem allows you to add a series of images as references. If you have a second monitor you can have all your reference photos/sketches in view while you work.

Video Editing

Olive. Another new comer but so far has been solid. If you’re looking for open source non-linear video editors that lean towards professional results it might be worth giving it a try.

Audio Production

Odio Radio. Odio is an awesome internet radio player and organizer.

Helm. Helm is a great synth that can be used standalone or as an LV2, VST, VST3 or AU plugin. One of the best free synth plugins available for Linux. Works great in Bitwig.

Sunvox. This has to be one of the most amazing free DAWs ever! It’s a tracker style like Renoise and has everything you need to make music. The best part? It literally runs on everything!

Submix. If you need to record and do some basic WAV editing don’t look past Submix. Of course Audacity is more feature rich.

Helio.FM. I have been watching this one for awhile. I don’t know if I consider it a full fledged DAW but if you want something simple to build up some tunes this will get the job done.

Office/Writing

WriteFull. If you have ever used a product called WhiteSmoke then this is similar. Writefull is a Natural Language Processor and gives feedback on written language.

Manuskript. If you’re an author looking for a tool to assist in the process of producing a book, look no further.

There’s my free/open source software list. I hope you find it useful.