As a person who is spinning up a few different side hustles – while trying to be a dad – and while trying to hold down a full time job – I find that I have a need for a variety of pieces of software. I’m a team of one with many hats, including bookkeeper, graphic designer, copywriter, and more. My need for software that will help me is great, and with an incredibly small budget, I have found that open source tools are a great benefit to me.
To be sure, and to be fair, there are “free” tools that will help, such as Google Docs and even the free version of Microsoft’s Office 365, but my preferences are for open source because, primarily, I end up truly owning my own data. With Google and Microsoft, in particular (and even Adobe, quite frankly), I have the concern that my data and my documents are being used for their purposes, whether it is to feed me ads, or train AI, or whatever they feel like doing with it. Simply put, I want my data to be under my control, and I find that open source tools are great for that.
I will be the first to admit that I do also used paid/purchased tools, and prefer an outright purchase over a subscription if possible, but I am very picky about which tools I use. More on that later.
Open Source Tools
LibreOffice
I’ve been in the Google ecosphere for as long as Gmail was available. When Google introduced Google Docs I was one of the first to dive right into it and, honestly, I still use it, but sparingly, and only when possible.
Google Docs was the first and easiest of tools to replace, and I’ve used Libre Office to do so. I’m actually familiar with Libre Office from a good long time ago when it was Star Office. I did some messing with it, found it fascinating, but did not, at the time, really have a need for it. Now, however, it’s an essential. I’m not a big fan of the interface – I honestly prefer both Google Docs and Office 365’s interface – but that is easily weighed out by keeping my data my own.
One of the selling features of the Google and Microsoft offerings is that the data and documents are highly available; if one’s computer shits the bed, the documents are still available in the cloud. And, yes, this is an issue, and one that I’ve solved by making a purchase of pCloud. Granted, pCloud isn’t open source, but I was able to make a one time purchase, and the data is secure and not snooped upon.
Gimp and Krita
For some reason I cannot quite put my finger on, I am more antagonistic toward Adobe than I am either Google or Microsoft. I cannot explain it, but that’s how I feel.
I used Adobe some time ago when I was toying with the idea of becoming a professional photographer. I ultimately chose not to go that route and, honestly, found that my needs did not warrant the cost associated with Adobe. The vast majority of my editing needs are met by Gimp or Krita.
I’ve always enjoyed Gimp’s colour touch up tools and curve editing more than Krita’s, but Krita has had CMYK support which has become part of my workflow. I also prefer Krita’s interface, so I swap between the two programs when I feel one will do a better job. I’m incredibly interested to see how Gimp 3.0 turns out, particularly since it is said to have support for CMYK.
Inkscape
I do not do very much svg editing, but when I do, Inkscape is my goto. I use Inkscape to help me design book covers (for the first book I have written, ’twas the Night Before Yule), and to help me design the FDA approved labels for my coffee line (https://skeletonbrew.coffee/)
I will design a coffee label in Inkscape, then perform the conversion to CMYK for printing in Krita.
Tenacity
As a podcaster (https://blindskeleton.one/three-tune-tuesday-podcast/) I have a need to perform audio editing. Look, I’m not an audio engineer any more than I am a professional photographer; I am a jack-of-all-trades who dabbles in a lot and has at least a basic understanding of a number of things. Similarly, I have a basic understanding of audio editing, and Tenacity is my go to.
What I like about Tenacity is that it is multi-track, whereas ocenaudio is not. This helps immeasurably with special audio effects, as well as putting audio clips and songs into the correct locations of the podcast.
Mixxx
Mixxx is tied to my podcasting as well. I will use Tenacity when I am recoding a podcast on my own. I will use Mixxx when recording a podcast with another person. It has support for multiple microphones and inputs and a host of other features that I mostly don’t have the need for. I discovered Mixxx when I was running my own internet radio station (since shut down, alas, due to very large diminishing returns) as it is designed for real-time broadcasting. I’ve found it also suits my purpose for recording podcasts.
OpenShot
OpenShot is my goto for video editing. Again, I’m not a professional, but I dabble, and OpenShot does what I need, when I need it.
GnuCash
I have three different hustles that I’m beginning to hustle with ideas for more. Each hustle has it’s own bank account and credit card, because I’m lazy and like to keep them separate. That said, I also want to keep track of business. Gnucash keeps everything tidy. It supports double-entry bookkeeping, basic reporting, and good overviews.
Joplin
Joplin (https://joplinapp.org) is, in my mind, the best note keeping utility available today. I use it not just to keep notes, but with the help of some of the extensive plugins available, I use it to organise all my projects and tasks into my own personal GTD system.
My favourite Joplin plugins:
- Home Note
- Embed Search
- Favorites
- Note Encryption
- Persistent Editor Layout
- Templates
- Backup
Joplin, like a good note keeping system, can sync between devices, and this is where it really shines – even the Joplin Server is open source. I used to use Dropbox as a sync repository before I grew paranoid enough to want to keep my data off of every possible external cloud service; now I run my own Joplin Server on a K3s (kubernetes) host that I maintain on my own and I can write, read, sync, etc, all on my own hardware and with keeping my data private. Not only is transport encrypted over SSL, but with the Note Encryption plugin, I can keep specific notes encrypted as well.
Calibre
I’d like to give a quick shout out to Calibre. I don’t use this one that often, but I do have hundreds of epubs, and Calibre is, in my mind, the best tool to organise them. I’m not a big fan of the interface, and I wish it was easier to “send to” devices, but it’s open source and it works.