Some Top Open Source Apps for Different Platforms

Open source applications are always good for the industry. They help people get used to computers in situations where the same would not be possible owing to the high cost of paid software from bigger brands. In keeping with that theme, here is a brief list of some of the best open source applications that are available in the world today.

• Handbrake – This is one of the most popular applications for video transcoding. Most people use Handbrake for the convenience it offers in backing up DVDs and converting videos for specific devices like the Apple TV, iPhone etc.
• Rockbox – This is just the right application if you find the inbuilt software in your media player a tad boring. By simply changing the same to Rockbox, your portable media player can be turned into a portable jukebox in almost no time.
• Blender – Blender is immensely useful if you want to edit some videos and add effects. The app allows you to create 3D videos, shade, model, render, animate and many other creative tasks. The best part about Blender is that it works across different platforms like Windows, Linux and OS X.
• Firefox – Unarguably the most popular open source web browser out there, Firefox has come a long way from the time it debuted. Highlights of the browser include a massive collection of plugins and add-ons that make the whole browsing experience a lot more productive.
• Xchat – A chat client based on IRC for both Windows and Linux, Xchat allows users to message privately, transfer files to each other and connect to multiple channels.
• GnuCash – An app that focuses on finance management, GnuCash is perfect for personal use as well as for small businesses. It features support for graphs and reports, invoicing, scheduling transactions and a lot more.
• Pauker – Pauker is essentially a flash card app that is available for 9 different languages. Users can download dozens of cards that cover different subjects like vocabulary, geography, pharmalogy, computers etc.
• OpenOffice – The undisputed king when it comes open source office applications, OpenOffice includes a highly capable word processor, presentation marker and spreadsheet creator and editor.
• Thunderbird – From the creators of Firefox, Thunderbird is one of the most user-friendly email clients around. The app supports archiving of messages, search, filtering and single-click address book. Users of other email clients like Outlook can easily import their data into Thunderbird thanks to the extremely useful and nimble ‘Migration Assistant’.
• 7-Zip – This app allows you to compress any file you want to the ZIP format. ZIP archives are smaller in size and hence take up lesser storage space than their uncompressed counterparts.
• PDF Creator – Ideal for those working a lot with PDF files, PDF Creator helps you create PDFs quickly from almost any Windows application. It can also convert other files to the PDF format.