A set of ten free content creation tools
Open - by J Nygren
Partly because of the economic situation, increasing numbers of people are looking at open source tools. The other day I ran across one that was new to me, and I wondered what else was out there. Could I find a full set of free desktop content creation tools that run on Windows, Mac, or Linux – AND get decent reviews? The answer is yes, and here it is:
- OpenOffice – productivity suite (word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, draw, and database)
- Scribus – desktop publishing
- KompoZer – web authoring
- GIMP – bitmap image editing
- Inkscape – vector graphic drawing
- Synfig Studio – vector-based 2D animation
- Blender – 3D content creation
- Avidemux – basic video editing
- Audacity – sound editing
- MuseScore – music composition and notation
The only ones I had never heard of before were Avidemux and Synfig Studio. I have used a few of them once or twice, but I use Audacity quite a bit.
What do you think of the titles on the list? Do you use them? Are any of them awful? defunct? Are there other good open source, multi-platform, desktop content editing programs you’d like to recommend?
UPDATE: I got nine of the tools up and running easily on a Mac OS 10.6 desktop. There is no easy way to install Synfig Studio on a Mac, but something is on the way.
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