Software Standards
Legend
Mandatory software is in boldface. Mandatory software must be installed and configured on your machine, and you should be prepared to use it as needed. You may use alternatives, as long as your work is fully compatible with the mandatory software. Documentation assumes you’re using the mandatory software, unless otherwise noted. In-house support may be limited for workflows with non-mandatory software.
Recommended alternative software is in regular face. If an alternative to mandatory software is needed or desired, we recommend these be considered first. In-house support is still generally available.
Optional alternative software is in italics. In-house support for these is limited.
† Transitional only, not for final file output.
‡ Limited support, no in-house tech support.
$ Proprietary, permitted but not officially supported by the company. Should be used transitionally.
Software Recommendations
Office Software
Office Suites
LibreOffice 6
Calligra
OpenOffice.org ‡
Documents
LibreOffice Writer 6
AbiWord
Calligra Words
OpenOffice.org Writer ‡
Spreadsheets
LibreOffice Calc 6
Calligra Sheets
OpenOffice.org Calc ‡
Presentations
LibreOffice Impress 6
Calligra Stage
OpenOffice.org Impress ‡
Flowcharts
Dia
LibreOffice Draw 6
Calligra Flow
OpenOffice.org Draw ‡
Office Database
LibreOffice Base 6
Calligra Kexi
OpenOffice.org Base ‡
PDF Annotation
Xournal
Math and Formulas
LibreOffice Math 6
GeoGebra
ZeGrapher
OpenOffice.org Math ‡
Collaborative Editing
Visual Studio Code: Live Share (text/code only)
Etherpad [DevNet] (text/code only)
AbiWord ‡
Desktop Publishing
Scribus
LibreOffice Writer 6
Calligra Words
OpenOffice.org Writer ‡
Mindmapping
Calligra Braindump
Freemind
Desktop Email Client
Evolution
Thunderbird
Geary
Web Browser
Brave
Firefox
Chromium
Opera
Vivaldi
Emulator
VirtualBox
Graphics Design
Image Manipulation
GIMP
Screenshots
FlameshotJS
Shutter
Raster Graphics
GIMP
Krita (Calligra)
Vector Drawing
Inkscape
Calligra Karbon
Photography
Darktable
RawTherapee
Image Conversion
Converseen
3D Design
Blender
Video Editing
Kdenlive
Shotcut
Pitvi
OpenShot
Roxio NXT Creator 2 $
Audio/Music
Recording and Editing
Audacity
Ardour DAW
Apple GarageBand $†
Music Creation
LMMS
Hydrogen
Garritan $†
Apple GarageBand $†
Music Score
MuseScore
Programming
Text Editor
Visual Studio Code
Atom
Geany
KATE
Nano
Vim
Brackets ‡
Emacs ‡
Sublime $‡
Build Tools
CMake
C/C++ IDE
Visual Studio Code
Atom
Code::Blocks
Geany
Vim
Anjuta ‡
Brackets ‡
CodeLite ‡
Eclipse CDT ‡
Emacs ‡
Kdevelop ‡
Netbeans ‡
Sublime $‡
C/C++ Debuggers and Dynamic Analysers
Visual Studio Code (debugging frontend)
gdb or lldb
KCacheGrind
Valgrind
Bless Hex Editor
Nemiver
Sysprof
C/C++ Static Analysers and Formatters
clang-format
cppcheck
AStyle
cccc
C/C++ Testing
Goldilocks
Containers
Docker
RestructuredText IDE
Visual Studio Code
Atom
Geany
Vim
Brackets ‡
Collaboration/Pair Programming
Visual Studio Code: Live Share
Python IDE
Visual Studio Code
Atom
Geany
NINJA-IDE
PyCharm Community Edition
Vim
Aptana ‡
Brackets ‡
Emacs ‡
Eric ‡
Pydev ‡
Kdevelop ‡
Spyder ‡
Sublime $‡
Python Debuggers and Dynamic Analysers
pdb
pudb
Python Static Analysers and Formatters
black
flake8 (includes PyFlakes, pycodestyle, mccabe)
bandit
flake8-bandit
flake8-datetimez
flake8-docstrings
flake8-pytest
flake8-mypy
flake8-regex
flake8-requirements
mypy
pydocstyle
pylint
Python Testing
pytest
ward
Version Control Software
Git
Arcanist
Meld
Git Cola
Operating Systems
Ubuntu
Debian
Kubuntu
Linux Mint
Lubuntu
Ubuntu Studio
Xubuntu
Arch Linux ‡
Fedora ‡
Windows 10 with WSL ‡
Disallowed Software
Note
This list doesn’t apply to open source contributors, although we strongly discourage use of the software below.
Why Disallow Software?
The idea of “Officially Disallowing” software for company use might initially seem to be overkill, but there is a logic to it. The decision is, again, not made lightly. In most cases, the software title in question contains security and privacy issues, bugs, or compatibility issues that make its use a significant business and development risk. In other cases, the software is disallowed on grounds of licensing issues. Paying several thousand dollars extra for commercial licensing is impractical when there is equivalent open-source software available.
It is worth noting that, while not the sole factor, drastic conflicts in business ethics were also taken into consideration. MousePaw Media is built around the conviction that educational and creative technologies should be accessible to everyone, not just those with a lot of money. Relying on corporations whose business practices are at stark odds with this ethic is, frankly, counter-intuitive.
Disallowed Software List
The following may NOT be used for company purposes, under any circumstances, unless otherwise noted or unless special permission is given by a supervisor. If you need more details, talk to Jason C. McDonald directly. (You are welcome to use these for personal reasons all you want.
Adobe
No Adobe products may be used for development, due to licensing costs, file-type compatibility, and ethical concerns. (All useful Adobe products have an open-source equivalent in our present standards.) This includes Adobe Flash.
Autodesk
No Autodesk products may be used for development, due to licensing costs, file-type compatibility, and ethical concerns. (All useful Autodesk products have an open-source equivalent in our present standards.) This includes AutoCAD, 3ds Max, Maya, and Sketchbook.
Existing files may be opened with personal copies of Autodesk software for review and export purposes only.
MP3 File Format
Due to licensing and patent concerns, the MP3 format may NOT be used for any audio.
EXCEPTION: A copy (NOT the master) of the audio may be saved as an MP3 for compatibility with third-party services and software. Distribution in MP3 is only allowed if the distribution platform strictly requires that format.
Microsoft Internet Explorer
Due to serious security and performance issues, Microsoft Internet Explorer is NOT to be used under any circumstances for company purposes, including (but not limited to) accessing the staff network, company-commissioned web design, or accessing any website for work-related reasons.
Microsoft Office
Due to some ODT compatibility issues, and a lack of in-company training and support, Microsoft Office is NOT to be used on any company documents.
Trimble SketchUp (formerly Google SketchUp)
Due to licensing costs, SketchUp may only be used for internal idea drafting, and is strongly discouraged even for this.
Microsoft Windows
As of 2019, due to revisions in the Terms of Service and Privacy Policies for Microsoft, we have lifted the ban on Microsoft Windows. However, we still require Linux for development work. In circumstances where Linux is directly uninstallable on a work machine, Windows 10 with Windows Subsystem for Linux may be used.