3Free software For working, teaching and learning

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3Free software

For working, teaching and learning

2012 edition

Mind mapping Freemind x-Mind C-map

Project management Openproj 1.4.2 GanttProject Image editing Photofiltre

PixBuilder Studio Gimp

Image catalogues, image browsers

Irfanview

Audio Audacity

Video players VLC

Content creation eXeLearning

Freemind - Mind Mapping

FreeMind is a computer software used to visualize and organise ideas and information (concepts, ideas, subjects of study, brainstorming session results, etc.). This method of visualizing knowledge is called Business Mapping and the diagrams that visually outline the information are called mind maps. Mind maps can be useful in project management procedures, to organize study subjects or to

summarize brainstorming results. Official website:

http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page Download desktop version 0.9.0:

http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Download Download version 0.8.1 for USB units (stable)

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X-Mind - Mind mapping

With X-Mind, you can organize ideas and set-ups in mind maps. This freeware links concepts using lines to connect text fields and thus generates descriptive diagrams that can be

published on the web. With X-Mind, mind-maps can be created by using lines to connect single-line text fields. Thanks to a range of tools and characters, colours and shapes, it is possible to highlight hierarchies and mutually connected elements, if necessary. With X-Mind, the logical structure of a complete mind map can be viewed in the different sections of a window. In this quick visualisation mode, it is possible to edit single elements. Maps can also be published on the web to share them with other users.

Official website: http://www.xmind.net/

Download desktop and USB device version: http://www.xmind.net/downloads/

Software languages: English, Deutsch, Italiano.

Export formats: .bmp, .jpg, .png, .gif, .txt, .html, .mm, .pdf (with external PDF software, for example: PDF Creator).

Cmap – Concept map creation for the structured visualisation of

Openproj 1.4.2 – Project management

OpenProj is a tool that helps project supervisors in their daily management of deadlines and resources.

Users create their projects as bar graphs and network diagrams. The similarity to MS Project is surprising; the software developer has definitely avoided customizing the user interface, making the transition to this software easier for those who have already worked with MS Project. For those who are absolute beginners in project management, the user interface remains quite intuitive given that OpenProj has small menus because of its modest number of features and tools.

Official website (the licensed version is no longer available): http://www.serena.com/products/pod-update.html/logo/ Download:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/openproj/ Software languages: English, Deutsch, Italiano. Export formats: .pdf.

GanttProject – Project management

GanttProject is a free application for project planning. The main features of this application are Gantt charts, resource management, report drafting and file import/export functions from MS Project, HTML and PDF. Additional features include project sharing with WebDAV and a system for importing/exporting information to spreadsheets.

Network diagram techniques are currently only available for limited use. In fact, GanttProject includes PERT network charts but, for example, it does not allow for project buffers that include the earliest and latest possible starting and ending date for a particular task.

Official website and download: http://www.ganttproject.biz/

Software languages: English, Deutsch, Italiano. Export formats: .png, .pdf, .html.

PhotoFiltre – Image editing

PhotoFiltre is a software for editing images and photos and for graphic design A private user has access to all the main image editing features without being overwhelmed by a complex application intended for graphic designers.

Official website and download (for USB units as well): http://www.photofiltre.com/

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Pixbuilder Studio – Image editor (for Microsoft Windows only)

WnSoft PixBuilder Studio is a free image editing software program for digital photo editing, image processing and resizing.

PixBuilder Studio has the following features: contrast and brightness adjustment, colour balance and levels manipulation. Expert users can obtain professional results with PixBuilder Studio by using its curves function and colour channel management feature. It supports multiple layers, multi-step undo/redo controls, mask, gradient and text-layer management – this makes PixBuilder Studio a great graphics software program for image processing and creating illustrations.

Official website and download:

http://www.wnsoft.com/de/pixbuilder/ (USB version also). Software languages: English, Deutsch, Italiano.

File formats

Reads the following formats: .jpeg, .gif, .png, .bmp, .pcx, .psd, .tga, .ico, .pbs. Saves in the following formats: .jpeg, .gif, .png, .bmp, .pcx, .tga, .ico, .pbs.

Gimp – image editing

Gimp (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a professional software for image editing similar to Adobe Photoshop. This freeware offers standard tools as well as professional filters and an appealing interface – all you need for image processing and graphic design. Thanks to this software, amateur photographers can add a final touch to their snapshots.

With GIMP, the user can set up graphics, process images and produce multimedia presentations. The GIMP’s main toolbar contains all the standard tools such as the paintbrush, magnifier and the eraser. Several filters are available to work on existing images – digital photos or a scans – resulting in markedly increased quality.

Official website: http://www.gimp.org/ Download:

http://www.gimp.org/downloads/

Software languages: English, Deutsch, Italiano. File formats

File formats read and saved:

.pix, .matte, .mask, .alpha, .als, .svg, .fli, .dcm, .dicom, .ps, .eps, .fits, .fit, .ico, .avi, .bmp, .psp, .tub, .ps, .pnm, .ppm, .pgm, .pbm, .gif, .jpeg, .jpg, .jpe, .png, .cel, .tiff, .tif, .tga, .sgi, .rgb, .bw, .icon, .im1, .im8, .im24, .im32, .rs, .ras, .xpm, .xwd, .pcx.

File formats that are only read: .pdf, .g3, .wmf, .apm.

Formats for saving only: .html, .c, .h, .mng, xcf, xcf.gz, xcf.bz2, .txt, .ansi, .text, .dataurl nicht IE, .colorhtml, .colorxhtml).

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Irfanview – image viewer

Irfanview is a powerful image viewer that can also be used to play videos and music by adding plug-ins. Despite its countless possible settings, the software has a short learning curve, especially as it can be customized according to single user preferences. The slideshow feature can be used on a gallery of images found in multiple folders and these galleries can be converted to executable files. Beyond the numerous viewing features, Irfanview offers much more: images can be rotated, enlarged, cut and converted while colours and gamut adjustment can be managed at will. The software does not need to be installed and is provided as freeware for private use, as are the IrfanView plug-ins. Official website and download: (works on a USB unit as well)

http://www.irfanview.de/

Audacity – audio editing

Audacity is a free audio editor that supports the main audio formats (MP3, Ogg/Vorbis, WAV, MIDI, AIFF). It is possible to mix music tracks, add sound effects and vary playing speed.

The recording feature detects all audio signals and lets you save them on your hard drive. The filter feature removes background hisses and noises permitting to quickly filter out unwanted sounds. Official website:

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/?lang=it Download:

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/ Download for USB device:

http://audacity-portable.softonic.it/

VLC – multimedia player (audio and video)

VLC Media-Player is a player for audio and video files as well as DV and video CDs. It also supports various streaming protocols such as web radio and web TV files. Thanks to numerous codecs, this free tool supports nearly all audio and video files, even those that Windows Media Player cannot play. It can even play AVI files that are incomplete when they have not been correctly downloaded. Thanks to other filters, it can change the colours of a video in real time, for example, or rotate a film by 90 degrees if it has been recorded vertically.

Official website and download: http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

USB device download (only Windows):

http://portableapps.com/de/apps/music_video/vlc_portable Software languages: English, Deutsch, Italiano.

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