I am a supporter of free and open source software (FOSS) whenever I can. For those who don’t know, open source means that the source code for the project is freely available, often with a MIT or Apache 2.0 license, which basically enables anyone to do what they like with it. This means that anyone can extend or modify the software as they see fit, so it is extremely customizable. This is in contrast to proprietary software, which you often pay for, and has little customizability. I personally cannot stand ads in my software, popup windows asking me to upgrade to premium, or subscription payment models for software. Almost every available tool online has a FOSS alternative. Some are one person’s project, some are run by a large community, and some have a non-profit with full time developers that have sponsorships by huge companies like Google or Microsoft. While some open source programs are better than their proprietary counterparts, one downside of FOSS is that many have a very hacked together user interface as a result of the contributions of thousands of developers, and sometimes can be difficult to learn how to use. FOSS is only as good as the community that supports it, and the ones I like are listed here.

• Audacity: audio recording and editing
• Musescore: music notation software
• ffmpeg: CLI for converting image and video formats
• handbrake: GUI for ffmpeg
• pandoc: CLI for converting between document formats. I used it extensively in college to convert between .docx, .md, and .tex
• latex: industry standard mathematical typesetting tool. Can make presentations too
• typst: modern alternative to latex, I haven’t used it too much but looks promising
• zotero: bibliography, citations, and research helper
• VS Code: popular text editor with plugin support for latex, typst, and really every programming language
• python + sympy, matplotlib, and numpy: symbolic math computer algebra system for python. Quite a large learning curve, but capable of handling derivatives, integrals, matrices, complex numbers, and creating graphs.
• blender: 3D modelling software, with support for animation
• anki: flashcards with native latex support
• bitwarden: password manager
• firefox: web browser
• inkscape: vector graphics
• lichess: chess website, with customizable training and puzzles
• OBS studio: screen recording and livestreaming
• yt-dlp: CLI to download YouTube videos
• kdenlive: video editing
• linux: still new to me but open source operating system alternative to Windows or macOS

These next ones are not open source, but I still would recommend them.

• obsidian: highly extensible free note taking app with native latex support and local note storage as markdown files
• forscore: ipad app for viewing sheet music. Not free, but well worth the one-time payment
• goodnotes: ipad notetaking app. I think they might have moved to a subscription model recently, but I still use it with the one time payment for note taking and reading/marking up books
• tonal energy tuner: just a tuner and metronome, but somehow better than all the other alternatives and worth the one time payment

I will add to this list as I use more, but I have found these tools indispensable as a student and in my personal life.