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219 posts found.
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Filezilla

March 20, 2015 by Andy Voelker
Categories: Network & Communications

Filezilla_logo

Availability: Free Download
Comparable: WinSCP, Fetch

FileZilla is free, cross-platform FTP application software, consisting of FileZilla Client and FileZilla Server. It is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X.  It features an easy to use two-sided interface, one side being the local file system and the other being the server.  Users can drag and drop files between the two.  Filezilla can also save profiles for connections you frequently use.

It supports FTP, SFTP, and FTPS (FTP overSSL/TLS). Support for SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol) is not implemented in FileZilla Server.

Tags: FTPSFTP

VLC Media Player

March 18, 2015 by Andy Voelker
Categories: Multimedia

vlc-logo

Availability: Free Download
Comparable: Quicktime

VLC media player (commonly known as VLC) is a portable, free and open-source, cross-platform media player and streaming media server written by the VideoLAN project.

VLC media player supports many audio and video compression methods and file formats, including DVD-Video, video CD and streaming protocols. It is able to stream media over computer networks and to transcode multimedia files.

The default distribution of VLC includes a large number of free decoding and encoding libraries, avoiding the need for finding/calibrating proprietary plugins.  It also gained distinction as the first player to support playback of encrypted DVDs on Linux and OS X.

Tags: media player

Google Forms

March 18, 2015 by Andy Voelker
Categories: Productivity & Utility

googleforms

Availability: All Labs | Faculty/Staff | Access
Part of: Google Apps
Comparable: Qualtrics Research Suite

Google Forms is a tool that allows collecting information from users via a personalized survey or quiz. The information is then collected and automatically connected to a spreadsheet with the same name. The spreadsheet is populated with the survey and quiz responses.  Forms can be embedded in websites for surveys, information gathering, request forms, sign-up forms, etc.

Tags: cloud

Celestia

March 18, 2015 by Andy Voelker
Categories: Analysis & ModelingDesign & Visualization
Availability: Free Download
celestiaComparable: Google Earth, Starry Night Pro, Stellarium

Celestia is a free space simulation that lets you explore our universe in three dimensions. Celestia runs on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X.

Unlike most planetarium software, Celestia doesn’t confine you to the surface of the Earth. You can travel throughout the solar system, to any of over 100,000 stars, or even beyond the galaxy.  All movement in Celestia is seamless; the exponential zoom feature lets you explore space across a huge range of scales, from galaxy clusters down to spacecraft only a few meters across. A ‘point-and-goto’ interface makes it simple to navigate through the universe to the object you want to visit.  Celestia is expandable. Celestia comes with a large catalog of stars, galaxies, planets, moons, asteroids, comets, and spacecraft. If that’s not enough, you can download dozens of easy to install add-ons with more objects.

Qualtrics Research Suite

March 18, 2015 by Andy Voelker
Categories: Analysis & ModelingAssessment & Tutorials

qualtrics

Availability: Contact CLAS OAT
Comparable: SurveyShare, SurveyMonkey
Training: Project Mosaic Workshops

The Qualtrics Research Suite is an advanced online surveying tool.  It allows users to build a survey using drag and drop tools.  Survey authors can select from varying types of questions including multiple choice, true/false, write-in, matching, check-all-that-apply, organize lists, and more.  Authors can also build in logic such as if/then to create responsive surveys that react dynamically with how the users answer.  Surveys can be taken all within a browser window and can accept forms of authentication to segment intended audiences.  At the conclusion of the survey, authors have a suite of analytic tools available to pull statistics from the received data.

Tags: trm

Thunderbird

March 18, 2015 by Andy Voelker
Categories: Network & Communications

Mozilla_Thunderbird_logo

Availability: Free Download
Comparable: Outlook

Mozilla Thunderbird is a free, open source, extensible, cross-platform email, news, and chat client developed by the Mozilla Foundation.

Thunderbird is an email, newsgroup, news feed, and chat (XMPP, IRC, Twitter) client. It supports POP and IMAP methods of connecting to email servers. It also supports LDAP (directory) address completion. The built-in RSS/Atom reader can also be used as a simple news aggregator. Thunderbird supports the S/MIME standard, extensions such as Enigmail add support for the OpenPGP (security)standard. The vanilla version is not a personal information manager, although the Mozilla Lightning extension adds PIM functionality. Additional features, if needed, are often available via other extensions.

Tags: news

AutoCAD

March 18, 2015 by Andy Voelker
Categories: Analysis & ModelingDesign & Visualization

AutoCAD.2016.Logo.Icon

Availability: Faculty/Staff  |  Download
Comparable: Sketchup, Solidworks

AutoCAD is a commercial software application for 2D and 3D computer-aided design (CAD) and drafting — available since 1982 as a desktop application and since 2010 as a mobile web- and cloud-based app marketed as AutoCAD 360.

AutoCAD is used across a wide range of industries, by architects, project managers, engineers, designers, and other professionals. It is supported by 750 training centers worldwide as of 1994.

The native file format of AutoCAD is .dwg. This and, to a lesser extent, its interchange file format DXF, have become de facto, if proprietary, standards for CAD data interoperability.[citation needed] AutoCAD has included support for .dwf, a format developed and promoted by Autodesk, for publishing CAD data.

yEd Graph Editor

March 18, 2015 by Andy Voelker
Categories: Productivity & Utility

yworks logo

Availability: Free Download
Comparable: Dia, FreeMind, Inspiration, Visio

yEd is a free of charge general-purpose diagramming program with a multi-document interface.  It is a cross-platform application written in Java that runs on Windows, Linux, Mac OS, and other platforms that support the JVM.

yEd can be used to draw many different types of diagrams, including flowcharts, network diagrams, UML diagrams,BPMN diagrams, mind maps, organization charts, and Entity Relationship diagrams. yEd also allows the use of custom vector and raster graphics as diagram elements.

yEd loads and saves diagrams from/to GraphML, an XML-based format. The application can print diagrams including very large diagrams that span multiple pages.

FreeMind

March 18, 2015 by Andy Voelker
Categories: Productivity & Utility

128px-Free_Mind

Availability: Free Download
Comparable: Inspiration, yEd Graph Editor

FreeMind is a free, open source mind mapping application written in Java.  It provides extensive export capabilities. It runs on Microsoft Windows, Linux and Mac OS X via the Java Runtime Environment.

As with other mind mapping software packages, FreeMind allows the user to edit a hierarchical set of ideas around a central concept. The non-linear approach assists in brainstorming new outlines and projects as ideas are added around the mind map. As a Java application, FreeMind is portable across multiple platforms and retains the same user interface, causing some amount of variation from the common interface on each platform. Mac users may notice the most difference from their traditional user interface, but  the software’s features should still appeal to the segment of users who accept function over form.

Inspiration

March 18, 2015 by Andy Voelker
Categories: Productivity & Utility

i9logo

Availability: Download
Comparable: Dia, FreeMind, yEd Graph Editor

For visual mapping, outlining, writing and making presentations, use Inspiration 9, the ultimate thinking and learning tool. Brainstorm ideas, structure your thoughts and visually communicate concepts to strengthen understanding with the Diagram and Map Views. To take notes, organize information, and structure writing for plans, papers and reports, use the integrated Outline View to focus on main and supporting ideas and to clarify thinking in written form. With Inspiration’s Presentation Manager, transform your diagrams, mind maps and outlines into polished presentations that communicate ideas clearly and demonstrate understanding and knowledge.

For a quick overview of the software, go here.

PASCO Capstone

March 18, 2015 by Andy Voelker
Categories: Analysis & Modeling

Availability: Download
Comparable: Pasco DataStudio

PASCO Capstone is the next leap forward in software for data acquisition, display and analysis and destined to be the new standard in physics and engineering labs.  It takes that mantle from DataStudio which it supersedes.

Not an upgrade on existing software, PASCO Capstone was built from the ground up to be the most powerful and flexible option available.

While it was designed in conjunction with the new 850 Universal Interface, Capstone is completely compatible with all PASCO USB Interfaces – the 850, Xplorer GLX, SPARKlink, SPARK, USB link and even older interfaces such as the Science Workshop 750 or 500.

Joomla

March 11, 2015 by Andy Voelker
Categories: Design & Visualization
joomla_loloAvailability: Contact CLAS OAT
Comparable: WordPress, Drupal

Joomla is a free and open-source content management system (CMS) for publishing web content. It is built on amodel–view–controller web application framework that can be used independently of the CMS.

Joomla is written in PHP, uses standard programming techniques and stores data in a MySQL, MS SQL, or PostgreSQL database, and includes features such as page caching, RSS feeds, printable versions of pages, news flashes,blogs, polls, search, and support for language internationalization.  Joomla supports over 60 languages.

As of February 2014, Joomla has been downloaded over 50 million times. Over 7,700 free and commercial extensions are available from the official Joomla! Extension Directory, and more are available from other sources. It is estimated to be the second most used content management system on the Internet after WordPress.

Tags: web development

Stellarium

March 10, 2015 by Andy Voelker
Categories: Analysis & Modeling
stellarium logoAvailability: Free Download
Comparable: Google Earth, Starry Night Pro

Stellarium is a free open source planetarium for your computer. It shows a realistic sky in 3D, just like what you see with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope.

It is being used in planetarium projectors. Just set your coordinates and go.

Ubuntu Linux

March 05, 2015 by Andy Voelker
Categories: Operating Systems

ubuntu_logo

Availability: Labs | Free Download
Comparable: Red Hat Linux, CentOS Linux
Ubuntu is a Debian-based Linux operating system, with Unity as its default desktop environment. It is based on free software and named after the Southern African philosophy of ubuntu (literally, “human-ness”), which often is translated as “humanity towards others” or “the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity”.
A default installation of Ubuntu contains a wide range of software that includes LibreOffice, Firefox, ThunderBird, Transmission, and several lightweight games such as Sudoku and chess.  Many additional software packages, including titles no longer in the default installation such as Evolution, GIMP, Pidgin, and Synaptic, are accessible from the built in Ubuntu Software Center as well as any other APT based package management tool. Execution of Microsoft Office and other Microsoft Windows applications can be facilitated via the Wine compatibility package or through the use of a virtual machine such as VirtualBox or VMware Workstation.
Tags: linuxoperating system

MAGic

February 26, 2015 by Andy Voelker
Categories: Accessibility
Availability: Labs | Download
Comparable: Orca, JAWS
MAGic is a screen magnification and screen reading solution for low vision computer users. MAGic can help you work more efficiently with business applications, documents, email, navigating the Internet, and engaging in social networking. MAGic delivers smooth, crisp letters, even at the highest magnification levels.
  • 46 magnification levels from 1x to 36x
  • View more of the screen content with multiple magnification levels between 1x and 2x
  • Work longer without fatigue with high-definition text and crisp fonts
  • Never lose track of the cursor or mouse pointer again with MAGic’s high-definition mouse and cursor enhancement options
  • Eliminate glare and increase contrast with built-in color enhancements
  • Speech options add human-sounding voices to speak text and echo user actions
  • Easy to learn and use with built-in training tools
  • Add a MAGic Large Print Keyboard with bold, high-contrast keys for easy access to MAGic’s most-used features
  • MAGic is designed and tested to work well on computers where JAWS is installed
Tags: accessibilityvisual assistance

Omeka

February 26, 2015 by Andy Voelker
Categories: Design & Visualization

omeka

Availability: Contact CLAS OAT
Comparable:  WordPress, Drupal

Omeka is a free, flexible, and open source web-publishing platform for the display of library, museum, archives, and scholarly collections and exhibitions. Its “five-minute setup” makes launching an online exhibition as easy as launching a blog.

Omeka is a Swahili word meaning to display or lay out wares; to speak out; to spread out; to unpack.

Omeka falls at a crossroads of Web Content Management, Collections Management, and Archival Digital Collections Systems: Tech Ecosystem

Omeka is designed with non-IT specialists in mind, allowing users to focus on content and interpretation rather than programming. It brings Web 2.0 technologies and approaches to academic and cultural websites to foster user interaction and participation. It makes top-shelf design easy with a simple and flexible templating system. Its robust open-source developer and user communities underwrite Omeka’s stability and sustainability.

Tags: web development

Visolve

February 26, 2015 by Andy Voelker
Categories: Accessibility

visolve

Availability: Free Download
Comparable:  Color Blind Assistant

Visolve is the software that transforms colors of the computer display into the discriminate colors for various people including people with color vision deficiency, commonly called color blindness. In addition to distinguishing colors and finding a specific color, it aims to help people with color blindness:

  • to guess a normal color, and
  • to feel the color gradations in natural scenery etc. by their visual information.

Visolve can execute the following three types of color transformation, filtering, and hatching:

  1. Red-Green transform — transforms redder colors to brighter, and greener colors to darker,
  2. Blue-Yellow transform — transforms bluer colors to brighter, and yellower colors to darker,
  3. Saturation increase — increases the saturation of all colors,
  4. Filtering — darkens all colors other than the specified color, and
  5. Hatching — draws different hatch patterns depending on color.

When people with color blindness apply, for example, Red-Green transform, if they keep the above transformation rule in mind and see color changes, they could guess a normal color. Moreover, Red-Green transform reflects the degree of color saturation into its brightness regularly. So they could know not only the difference between red and green but also the difference between two reds, i.e., the degrees of red.

Tags: accessibilityvisual assistance

Color Blind Assistant

February 26, 2015 by Andy Voelker
Categories: Accessibility

colorblind

Availability: Free Download
Comparable:  Visolve

Colorblind Assistant is free software that instantly picks the color from the mouse pointer, providing you with a written name of the color, as well as other useful data such as RGB values and bar graphs, brightness and saturation.Read more…

Tags: accessibilityvisual assistance

Google Drawing

February 26, 2015 by Andy Voelker
Categories: Design & VisualizationMultimediaProductivity & Utility

Availability:
Faculty/Staff
Part of: Google Apps
Comparable: GIMP, OpenOffice

Google Drawing is a basic cloud-based paint/drawing application that can be accessed directly through any web browser.  Drawing is useful for making basic sketches, diagrams, and performing basic image editing.  Drawings are automatically saved to Google’s servers (Google Drive), and a revision history is automatically kept so past edits may be viewed (although this only works for adjacent revisions, and there is currently no way to find and isolate changes in long documents). Documents can be tagged and archived for organizational purposes.

Drawing also gives users the ability to share the document.  Typically when a normal document is shared the recipient accesses a copy from one point in time.  With a Google Drawing the document is shared in real-time, so recipients can always access the most recent version of the document.  Sheet owners can also grant permissions for the recipient to comment on the document, edit, or revision.  This introduces real-time collaboration, where multiple users can be editing the same document simultaneously, see each others’ edits, and even chat with each other in a sidebar.

Tags: cloud

Google Slides

February 25, 2015 by Andy Voelker
Categories: Design & Visualization

google slidesAvailability:
Faculty/Staff
Part of: Google Apps
Comparable: Keynote, OpenOffice, Powerpoint, Prezi, Sway 

Google Slides is a basic cloud-based presentation tool that can be accessed directly through any web browser.  Presentations are automatically saved to Google’s servers (Google Drive), and a revision history is automatically kept so past edits may be viewed (although this only works for adjacent revisions, and there is currently no way to find and isolate changes in long documents). Presentations can be tagged and archived for organizational purposes.

Slides also gives users the ability to share the document.  Typically when a normal document is shared the recipient accesses a copy from one point in time.  With a Google Slide the document is shared in real-time, so recipients can always access the most recent version of the document.  Sheet owners can also grant permissions for the recipient to comment on the document, edit, or revision.  This introduces real-time collaboration, where multiple users can be editing the same document simultaneously, see each others’ edits, and even chat with each other in a sidebar.  There are many other powerful features in Google Slides.

 

Tags: cloud
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