Time Saving Tuesday – Part 1
Sometimes it’s nice to know what the most popular pieces of software are, because that could help you decide what you want to use. It wasn’t that long ago that I noticed SourceForge (the largest open source development site) supplied stats for each of their products so that visitors knew how many downloads a particular project has received. They even provide detailed stats for all of the projects such as these for Azureus:
From the chart in the upper-right corner you can see that Azureus gets nearly 100,000 downloads per day and the site receives around 8 million pageviews every day! Now that is some serious traffic!
What I’m going to focus on in this post is giving brief explanations of each SourceForge project in the top 25 list, as well as provide the total number of downloads (as of 3/4/2007) and what operating systems the software is compatible with.
- eMule
Total Downloads: 292,372,052
Useful Links: Homepage
Operating Systems: All 32-bit MS Windows (95/98/NT/2000/XP)
Description: File sharing application that utilizes the eDonkey2000 network. Unlike the BitTorrent network the eDonkey2000 network actually uses a built-in search to find the files you are looking for instead of a website.
Screenshot:
- Azureus
Total Downloads: 138,614,512
Useful Links: Homepage
Operating Systems: All 32-bit MS Windows (95/98/NT/2000/XP), All POSIX (Linux/BSD/UNIX-like OSes), OS X
Description: Azureus is one of the most popular BitTorrent clients currently available. It runs on Java which is, in my opinion, a downfall because it seems a bit sluggish. My personal preference for a BitTorrent client is uTorrent.
Screenshot:
- Ares Galaxy
Total Downloads: 85,011,556
Useful Links: Homepage
Operating Systems: 32-bit MS Windows (NT/2000/XP)
Description: Continuing with the trend is yet another file sharing client. I haven’t gotten around to trying this one out, but it uses a decentralized network much like BitTorrent so that it is next to impossible to be shutdown.
Screenshot:
- BitTorrent
Total Downloads: 51,850,559
Useful Links: Homepage
Operating Systems: All 32-bit MS Windows (95/98/NT/2000/XP), All POSIX (Linux/BSD/UNIX-like OSes)
Description: This is another BitTorrent client that I quickly turned away from. It may not seem bad to the casual user but it includes a lot of bloat that most people won’t find necessary.
Screenshot:
- DC++
Total Downloads: 43,970,756
Useful Links: Homepage
Operating Systems: 32-bit MS Windows (NT/2000/XP)
Description: DC++ is a file sharing client that uses the Direct Connect network to transfer files between users. I only used this for a brief amount of time because it creates what I consider to be clubs. In order to join some of the clubs, you have to share a certain amount of data (sometimes in the GB range) which most people won’t want to do.
Screenshot:
- Shareaza
Total Downloads: 35,738,378
Useful Links: Homepage
Operating Systems: All 32-bit MS Windows (95/98/NT/2000/XP)
Description: This is kind of the all-in-one file sharing utility, and I used this for several years. It supports the Gnutella2, Gnutella1, eDonkey2000/eMule and BitTorrent networks which is great. However, I always had less than stelar speeds/performance when downloading from the BitTorrent network, so if your after torrents then I recommend getting an actual BitTorrent client.
Screenshot:
- CDex
Total Downloads: 31,337,826
Useful Links: Homepage
Operating Systems: All 32-bit MS Windows (95/98/NT/2000/XP)
Description: This program will rip CD’s and let you store them in a variety of formats, such as MPEG (MP2,MP3), VQF, and AAC.
Screenshot:
- VirtualDub
Total Downloads: 31,141,457
Useful Links: Homepage
Operating Systems: All 32-bit MS Windows (95/98/NT/2000/XP)
Description: I’ve known about this program for a long time, but have never found the need to try it out myself. It should be great for anyone looking to capture some video from a device or clean up an existing video.
Screenshot:
- GTK+ and The GIMP installers for Windows
Total Downloads: 24,043,976
Useful Links: Homepage
Operating Systems: All 32-bit MS Windows (95/98/NT/2000/XP)
Description: Gimp is considered to be one of the best Photoshop replacements available, and it won’t cost you a thing just like the rest of the projects mentioned in the article. It does things a little differently than Photoshop, but it includes many of the same image editing tools.
Screenshot:
- 7-Zip
Total Downloads: 21,248,059
Useful Links: Homepage
Operating Systems: All 32-bit MS Windows (95/98/NT/2000/XP)
Description: This is a file extractor that is extremely easy to use. It adds an option to the context menu (also referred to as the right-click menu) so that extracting a 7z, ZIP, CAB, RAR, ARJ, LZH, CHM, GZIP, BZIP2, Z, TAR, CPIO, RPM and DEB is only a click away.
Screenshot:
- eMule Plus
Total Downloads: 20,991,374
Useful Links: Homepage
Operating Systems: All 32-bit MS Windows (95/98/NT/2000/XP)
Description: Just like the number 1 application listed above, this is a file sharing client that utilizes the eDonkey2000 network. It is considered to be more feature intensive, more efficient, and sports a cleaner user interface…that’s why it is the “plus” version. :)
Screenshot:
- Audacity
Total Downloads: 20,833,213
Useful Links: Homepage
Operating Systems: All 32-bit MS Windows (95/98/NT/2000/XP), All POSIX (Linux/BSD/UNIX-like OSes), OS X
Description: An audio editor application that is cross-platform and supports WAV, AIFF, Ogg, and MP3 files. Features include envelope editing, mixing, built-in effects and plug-ins, all with unlimited undo.
Screenshot:
- FileZilla
Total Downloads: 19,905,338
Useful Links: Homepage
Operating Systems: 32-bit MS Windows (NT/2000/XP)
Description: This is an amazing little application for connecting to a FTP/SFTP server. I’ve used this for quite some time and wouldn’t switch to any other FTP software. It is small, fast, and reliable which is something I look for in every application.
Screenshot:
- guliverkli
Total Downloads: 17,136,850
Useful Links: Homepage
Operating Systems: All 32-bit MS Windows (95/98/NT/2000/XP)
Description: This program is a media player for Windows. It is often referred to as “Media Player Classic” because of the non-elegant interface that it has. Despite the lack luster appearance it does have a lot of useful features under-the-hood.
Screenshot:
- Gaim
Total Downloads: 15,859,593
Useful Links: Homepage
Operating Systems: All 32-bit MS Windows (95/98/NT/2000/XP), All BSD Platforms (FreeBSD/NetBSD/OpenBSD/Apple Mac OS X), All POSIX (Linux/BSD/UNIX-like OSes)
Description: This is one of the most popular cross-platform cross-network instant messengers available to download. It supports a wide range of networks including AIM, ICQ, Yahoo!, MSN, Jabber, IRC, Napster, Gadu-Gadu, Zephyr, and SILC. All you’ll need is one messenger!
Screenshot:
- TightVNC
Total Downloads: 13,998,840
Useful Links: Homepage
Operating Systems: All 32-bit MS Windows (95/98/NT/2000/XP), All POSIX (Linux/BSD/UNIX-like OSes)
Description: TightVNC is a remote-desktop tool that is used to remotely connect to PC’s and control them no matter where you are at via an Internet/network connection.
Screenshot:
- phpBB
Total Downloads: 13,998,599
Useful Links: Homepage
Operating Systems: Any operating system that already has PHP installed.
Description: Many forums that you visit are probably running this software because of the extensive list of features it has to offer. In order to use it you’ll need to have PHP and a few other dependencies already installed to get it running.
Screenshot: Online Demo
- ZSNES
Total Downloads: 13,866,999
Useful Links: Homepage
Operating Systems: All 32-bit MS Windows (95/98/NT/2000/XP), All POSIX (Linux/BSD/UNIX-like OSes), MS-DOS
Description: This is a SNES/Super Famicom emulator that will let you play all of your favorite games that you thought you’d never see again. Of course, you’ll need to find the ROM’s to play using ZSNES, and they are considered illegal if you don’t own the game.
Screenshot:
- phpMyAdmin
Total Downloads: 12,702,612
Useful Links: Homepage
Operating Systems: Any operating system that already has PHP installed.
Description: phpMyAdmin is used by website administrators all over the world. It makes it easy to manipulate databases in various ways including adding, dropping, and altering tables.
Screenshot:
- NASA World Wind
Total Downloads: 12,377,384
Useful Links: Homepage
Operating Systems: All 32-bit MS Windows (95/98/NT/2000/XP)
Description: This application will reach the heart of any geek. It lets you zoom from a satellite view into any place on Earth. Using Landsat satellite imagery and the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission data, you can view the Earth’s terrain in 3D…just as if you were really there.
Screenshot:
- aMSN
Total Downloads: 12,148,409
Useful Links: Homepage
Operating Systems: All 32-bit MS Windows (95/98/NT/2000/XP), All POSIX (Linux/BSD/UNIX-like OSes), OS X
Description: This is probably something you would only use if you were on an operating system other than Windows, but it allows you to connect and chat with your friends on the MSN Instant Messenger network.
Screenshot:
- WinSCP
Total Downloads: 11,177,892
Useful Links: Homepage
Operating Systems: All 32-bit MS Windows (95/98/NT/2000/XP)
Description: With WinSCP you can connect to a remote computer using SSH so that you can securely transfer files between two PC’s.
Screenshot:
- Dev-C++
Total Downloads: 10,895,941
Useful Links: Homepage
Operating Systems: All 32-bit MS Windows (95/98/NT/2000/XP), All POSIX (Linux/BSD/UNIX-like OSes)
Description: This is an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for the C++ programming language. I use this all of the time when writing C++ code and prefer it over any editor available (even commercial software). The debugger isn’t the best, but I would say that is the only downside to it.
Screenshot:
- UltraVNC
Total Downloads: 10,715,604
Useful Links: Homepage
Operating Systems: All 32-bit MS Windows (95/98/NT/2000/XP)
Description: This is remote desktop software that allows you to control a PC remotely and transfer files between the computers.
Screenshot:
- AC3Filter
Total Downloads: 10,182,496
Useful Links: Homepage
Operating Systems: All 32-bit MS Windows (95/98/NT/2000/XP)
Description: This is a DirectShow filter that can be used for real time audio decoding and processing.
Screenshot:
Those are the top 25 applications in the open source community right now, and range from file sharing clients, all the way to an SNES emulator. An overwhelming amount of the applications in the top 25 are for file sharing, which is understandable because everyday people share more and more files.
In a few weeks I will develop a similar list for some of the other open source projects in hopes to familiarize you with them. These posts will also give you a quick reference for applications when you’re looking to complete a specific task. Stay tuned for the next parts to be included in this series!
Some of the best apps are Sourceforge open source.
I definitely agree, but some of the better ones I think are still yet to be seen. The top 25 may contain some of the most popular but as you dig deeper into the list I think a lot more great, and probably lesser known, apps will start to popup. That’s why every few weeks I want to revisit the list and keep going further down and exposing new apps.
Once again y’all have come through for me! I’ve found so much great OpenSource programs thanks to y’all. The latest to add to my collection is The Gimp (#9)! I am using it right now to make a new custom header for my blog and once I am done with that a FeedBurner image to match. So it may not be as powerful as PhotoShop but it did what I wanted it to (create and flatten a multi-layer image).
I was actually just at the bookstore and saw a nice book about learning how to use The Gimp and almost considered purchasing it. It walked you through (with pictures) how to do all of the things that most people would want to do.