(Bio)informatics
Here I will present software which can help you in the lab. It
can be software for special molecular biology problems or software
which helps you in the office to make documents or to edit pictures.
The programms are alternatives to the big well known software bundles
your boss thinks you don't need (read: are too expensive).
The software here is at least free to download and preferably open
source. So you can use it without asking you boss for money!
Molecular Biology Tools:
Primer3Plus
If you need to design primers for PCR, this is the best tool for sure.
Ok, I programmed it, so I am a little biased. I like it because it is
buit on primer3, a widely used program, and it has lots of parameters
to set. It may be a little confusing in the beginning, but the better
you understand it the more flexible it gets. In short, if you want to design
primers, primer3plus will fullfill all your needs.
ApE - A Plasmid Editor
If you need to work sequences, make plasmid maps or look how
often a restriction enzyme cuts, ApE is for you. It works well, sometimes
a little slow but over all, it's VERY useful and my sequence editor
of choise. Unfortunately, the development on ApE seems to have stopped
due to legal issues. I still would like to write my own version,
but I didn't even start. Untill then, I recomend ApE.
Mega
If you need to align sequences, Mega is for you. It allows
also to make nice trees and so on. I don't need it very often, so
I can't really say what it can do - but if I need to align sequences
and make trees it never let me down.
Office Software:
OpenOffice
This is a free, open source office package. If you dont know
it, try it out. It works very well and it does not cost a cent!
Graphics Software:
GIMP - The GNU Image Manipulation Program
GIMP - for Windows
This is probably the best pixel based graphics program. I guess
for most people it is all they ever need, the rest has to buy Adobe Photoshop.
I had a good impression once I played with it, but I have to admit that
I love Photoshop.
Inkscape
This is probably the best vector based graphics program. It is
good for drawing schemas and overviews. I think many people use Microsoft
Powerpoint for that, but a vector based graphics program is much more
suitable. It allows to scale the picture without seeing any pixels
when its very big.
Internet Software:
WinSCP
If you need a program to do FTP, this is for you. It can also use
SSH for secure connections and it is real GPL open source.