Scribus

Scribus is an open-source desktop publishing program that can be used for a variety of purposes. Common products designed with the software include but are not limited to fliers, brochures, posters and newspapers. In utilizing WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) forms of page composition and layout, Scribus aims to compete with the likes of Adobe InDesign and QuaekXPress, both of which are its main commercial competitors. Support for the CMYK color model and Scalable Vector Graphics also help to establish its presence as a well-suited alternative to said programs for those on a tight budget. Though, for better or worse, it lacks support for proprietary file formats used by its competitors; users should still be content knowing that this is free software and, after all, it’s the final product that matters, and Scribus delivers on that with ability to export to PDF and various other print-ready formats used by the industry at large.

Do more than just home movies

There comes a time when iMovie or Windows Movie Maker just won’t make the cut, and when that happens you’ll probably be relieved to know that there is Avidemux for the more complicated tasks. Built from the ground up as a free and open-source project, Avidemux trades usability for functionality, making up for what would normally be lacking in an amateur-oriented editor such as iMovie. Tasks that range from extracting an audio track from a video source, transcoding a clip (converting formats or compression methods), or removing black bars via the crop filter are all easily within the scope of this program. While it lacks polish and the subsequent user friendliness, Avidemux does give amateurs or those on a tight budget a taste of what’s to be found in proprietary editors without the hefty price tag (think Adobe Premiere or Sony Vegas), and for some that might just be enough.

Free classical music

Classical music may have very well gone out of style for the fast evolving 21st century, but it is not without an audience. Perhaps the reason can be found in one of its contributing factors, which is the lack of proper technology to record audio until the beginning of the 20th century or so. Catalogs such as Classic Cat are helping to change to perception by categorizing free and legal recordings for mass enjoyment. While it doesn’t actually store the music on its own servers (it simply redirects you to links hosted elsewhere), Classic Cat makes up for it with perhaps the most complete index available on the net. Bach, Beethoven and Mozart are of course amongst the hundreds of composers that are listed, but you shouldn’t stop there as there are plenty of others to check out as well.

P.S: Check out Archive.org as well as Wikipedia’s List of Public Domain music files for a more complete collection.

VirtualBox

When you install a new operating system, it will overwrite the existing one and thus make the process irreversible. VirtualBox, an aptly name free and open-source program, aims to solve this through virtualization. The process takes an operating system and installs it within the current operation system, creating a sandbox environment where one exists within the confines of the other. You may use this to try out Linux on a Windows setup, or emulate Windows software on a Linux/Mac setup. Then there’s the age old issue of getting legacy software that works only on older systems (XP comes to mind) to function on Vista/7, which can be solved by installing the older OS right inside the one you are currently using. Still, you should be aware that the proper activation key are needed to install a proprietary OS as well as a med-high end system to smooth facilitate virtulization (at least a dual-core).

Dr.McNinja

Enter The Adventures of Dr. McNinja, a web comic that focuses on the adsurd saga of a Doctor who is also a ninja by profession. Started in 2003 as amateur sketchs by Chris Hastings–then a college student–the comic has expanded to include more than an dozen issues, with later ones in full color as well. Add to that an equally ambiguous cast, including a gorilla and a raptor, and you have yourself an instant classic.