12 Essential Free Applications For Students

This post was published 3 years 5 months 16 days ago and as such probably does not reflect my current opinions, knowledge or ability.

It’s getting late in the summer and many of us will soon be heading back to school or university. With student budgets running pretty tight, it’s important to make the most of open source software and freeware. This guide gives an overview of vital set of applications for students of any discipline, whether you have a new computer or just want to get more out of an old one.

 

Office Suite

1. Open Office

Platform: Windows, Linux, Mac.
Open Office contains all the functionality of Microsoft Office and then some: document and spreadsheet editors, drawing, database functionality and even powerpoint-style presentation creation. It is also fully compatible with Microsoft Office documents so there are no problems opening .ppt files or saving your documents as a .doc to hand in. You can also export work as PDF – ensuring it will look exactly the same no matter who opens it.

 

Web Browser

2. Mozilla Firefox

Platform: Windows, Linux, Mac.
If you aren’t using Firefox already, why not? Now in its third reincarnation Firefox is faster and more secure than ever. Although Internet Explorer may now support tabbed browsing, nothing offers the level of customisability now available with Firefox. Aside from theming the browser to get it looking just how you want, you can easily download and install extensions which add even more functionality, such as add blockers and social networking plugins.

 

3. Opera

Platform: Windows, Linux, Mac
If you’re looking for something a little lighter in weight or easier to use than Firefox, Opera is also a great choice. It has several great features already built in such as speed dial: images of your favourite bookmarks to select from when you start up your browser, as well as email and newsfeed readers. However, it is also easy to skin the browser for a new look or add widgets, mini applications to sit on your desktop.

 

Email reader, RSS reader and Organiser

4. Mozilla Thunderbird with Lightning

Platform: Windows, Linux, Mac.
Whilst webmail makes it easy to check your email from any computer, it can still be useful to be able to download and view all your mail from one central location. Thunderbird makes it easy to get hold of your mail from several accounts and sort it automatically.
As well as this, Thunderbird works as an RSS reader. This means you can subscribe to news feeds from websites and have the latest content delivered straight to your PC as they are updated. If you haven’t used RSS feeds before they can be a great way to save time hunting the web for your favourite sites – if the site you want has a feed look for a ‘Subscribe’ button on the page or see if there is a little orange icon in the address bar in Firefox.
Like Firefox, Thunderbird allows you add functionality by installing extensions. A fantastic one to look at is Lightning. It adds a calender and to-do list to the email client, making it easy to manage your time from one location. If you don’t want to use Thunderbird, you can also download Lightning as a standalone application.

 

Graphics Editing

5. The Gimp

Platform: Windows, Linux, Mac
At some point, most people are going to need to edit an image, or produce some sort of graphic. The Gimp is an application with far more power than the simple Paint program that comes with your OS, without the price tag of Photoshop. Whilst it is a flexible and advanced tool, bear in mind that the Gimp is not meant to be Photoshop, it is just an alternative. It has it’s own user interface and way of doing things which can take some time to learn, although it isn’t hard for a novice to find the key features.

 

6. Picasa

Platform: Windows, Linux and Mac
The Gimp can be a little bit bulky and confusing if you just want to organise and alter your photos – that’s where Picasa comes in. Picasa was released by Google and allows you to sort your photos on your hard disk, as well as making it easy to share them on the web. You can also crop and resize them, alter the colours and contrast and play with a few simple effects. The application is incredibly easy to use but also offers a good range of options, and you can perform an action to a set of photos in just a couple of clicks.

 

Instant Messaging

7. Pidgin

Platform: Windows, Linux (check Adium if you’re using a Mac)
Whilst the Microsoft MSN client is free to download, it only has support for one chat protocol. Pidgin however, supports over a dozen different protocols, and you can be logged in on different accounts simultaneously. As well as the ability to use Yahoo!, AIM and MSN, Pidgin has support for useful services like Google Talk and IRC. Pidgin is lacking webcam and voice chat right now, however as it is constantly being developed that should be available in future.

 

8. Skype

Platform: Windows, Linux, Mac
Skype’s primary purpose is to allow you to make free calls across the internet to other people using the service. That is far from it’s only use though. It can also be used to make low cost phone calls to landlines and mobiles, send SMS messages, instant message other users, and make free video calls. Because Skype is designed for audio messaging, the sound quality can be higher than other services, and with many international users, it can be a great way to practice language skills. It is also easy to find users who meet certain criteria and want to talk in order to make new friends.

 

CD and DVD Burning

9. Infrarecorder

Platform: Windows
A lot of courses are going to need you to submit coursework on a CD at some point. If you need something with more features than the default Windows burner but without the high cost of buying Nero, Infrarecorder is a good, lightweight choice. It integrates with Windows Explorer and burns a range of different media, including dual layer DVDs and multisession disks. It also allows you to record disk image files such as .isos.

 

Security

10. AVG

Platform: Windows
If you are running Windows, connecting to the internet without some sort of anti-virus software is putting your data at risk. AVG is a free virus and spyware scanner which allows you to run a regular, unintrusive scan of your computer. The program is regularly updated (just make sure you allow it to download updates) to stay on top of the latest threats. For the paranoid, there are also low-cost premium versions available with even more protection.

 

11. PeerGuardian

Platform: Windows, Mac, (Linux users check MoBlock)
If you’ve even so much as considered using Peer to Peer software (such as bittorrent) you’ll want to get hold of PeerGuardian right away. The application allows you to cease communications with certain IPs and maintains lists of those you might wish to block, such as government addresses, those releated with spyware and those who might compromise your privacy using P2P. Bear in mind that whilst PeerGuardian does make it safer to use bittorrent for copyright infringement, many people use the protocol for legal downloads and this application will help to protect their privacy.

 

12. Comodo Products

Platform: Windows
Comodo offers a range of free products to help your security. Their firewall is fairly unintrusive and is easy to use and update, and easily one of the best available for free. Another interesting utility is Comodo Backup, which allows you to make automatic backups of your data on your PC, accross a network or to CD/DVD. Comodo also offers a range of premium security products however I’ve found their free software to be more than sufficient.

 

Over To You…

Hopefully you’ll find some of these pieces of software useful and save some money on buying costly alternatives. If you have any other pieces of freeware or open source software which you think others might like please feel free to share it in a comment below.

If you enjoyed this post, please also check out Mike’s List of Multimedia Software. He has added some great applications, particularly if you are interested in audio or video editing.