software recommendations

internet

• Firefox/Iceweasel is a web browser known for its portability, standards compliance, and stability. It supports plugins such as flashblock and noscript to improve online security.
• Thunderbird/Icedove is an email application with fast searching. It supports plugins such as enigmail for encrypting and signing of emails.
• Pidgin is a chat client, that works with XMPP, MSN, and other networks.
• Password Safe is a password database. It stores them locally in a secure format, and allows passwords to be grouped.
• Transmission is a BitTorrent file downloading and sharing client.

media

• Audacity is a sound editor that allows recording, editing, mixing, effects, and format conversion of sound files.
• VLC is a media player and server that handles a wide variety of formats and codecs.
• MPlayer is a media player and encoder that handles a wide variety of formats and codecs.
• OpenShot is a non-linear video editor. It lacks some features, but is intuitive to use.

documents

• Leafpad is a lightweight text editor, that renders non-Roman text properly.
• Scribus is a desktop publishing package. It is more appropriate than using a word processor in contexts that require proper layout control.
• XeTeX is a version of the TeX and LaTeX typesetting project that enhances the ability to work with Unicode characters and fonts.
• LibreOffice is a full office suite. It is a compelling alternative to Microsoft software such as Word, Excel, and Powerpoint.
• WordNet is a lexical database for the English language, providing a dictionary and thesaurus.
• flpsed is a tool used to add text annotations to PDF documents. The functionality is basic, but is useful for filling in forms, particularly locked ones.

images

• Geeqie is a lightweight image viewer. It provides a few basic manipulations.
• Inkscape is a vector graphics editor, optimized for SVG files. The user interface is clean and powerful.
• The GIMP is an image manipulation program for editing photographs and creating digital art. It lacks CMYK support and takes some learning, but has a wide set of features and filters.
• ImackMagick is a suite of command line tools and libraries that can be used to manipulate images.
• Blender is a 3D modelling package, used for movie and game projects.

games

• Pingus is a puzzle game modelled after the game Lemmings.
• NetHack is a dungeons and dragons style adventure, based on the earlier Unix games Hack and Rogue. The text based graphics do not detract from the gameplay.
• Frozen Bubble is a puzzle game modelled after the arcade game Puzzle Bobble.
• The Battle for Wesnoth is a turn based tactical strategy game with a fantasy theme. It can be single or multiplayer.
• PokerTH is a Texas Holdem poker application. Opponents can be computer simulated, or over the internet.

programming

• Vim is a vi style editor, suited for programming. It has a bigger learning curve than most editors, but is powerful and fast for touch typists.
• The GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) is a collection of compilers with front ends for C, C++, Fortran, Java, and other languages. It compiles code for many platforms, and is known for its stability and standards compliance.
• git is a version control system, which is strongly decentralized and has efficient branching.