I came across this list of free and open source software for college students and was surprised to find some gems I hadn’t known of before. Here are my 3 favorites:
1. GIMP
GIMP is an open source photo and image editing software that runs on Windows, Linux and Mac. GIMP is fun to use and has lots of online community support.
2. Pidgin or Adium
Pidgin runs on Windows and Linux. Adium runs on Mac OS X. They are both lightweight pieces of software that can consolidate all of your various Instant Messenger accounts. No need to have 3 or 4 different pieces of software running at once.
3. VLC
Just as Pidgin consolidates IM accounts, VLC is a single piece of open source software that can play almost any video format you ask it to play. No more “video format not supported” errors.
Source: College Crunch
