Dallas Breeze

You may have heard that if something sounds to good to be true then it probably is.  However it is also said that the best things in life are free.  I’m going to share with you some of the best free software on the web.  Most of it is open source, meaning the code behind the software is free to use, distribute and even alter.

Gimp (open source)

Silly name but Gimp is a great program for manipulating images (think Photoshop).  Here are some tutorials.  Plugins like resynthesizer (watch this!) expand it’s capabilities.

Open Office (open source)

Open Office like its name suggests is a free office suite.  It includes a word processor, a spreadsheet, presentation software and more.  It can open and save in MS Office format, PDF, and many more formats.  Have an old document but no longer the software to open it?  Chances are Open Office can read it.

DDO (free to play)

If you like World of Warcraft you may enjoy Dungeons and Dragons Online.  It’s not open source but it is free to download and play as long as you want.  The company makes money by selling features, items and add-ons in the game.  It takes time to download, install and update but once it’s setup it loads like any other game.  Definitely worth a try.

Blender (open source)

Okay this one is pretty neat but you have to take the time to learn how to use it.  Blender is what’s called a 3D rendering program.  It can be used to create computer generated images like those used to make a Pixar movie or add a space ship to Star Trek.   Take a look at this gallery of images made with Blender and these videos.

I hope you enjoy these.  I’ll list more in the future as well as expand on the ones here.