Best Free and Open Source Alternatives to Roxio Easy VHS to DVD

posted by Rianne Schestowitz on Oct 03, 2026

• Best Free and Open Source Alternatives to Roxio Easy VHS to DVD

  Roxio Easy VHS to DVD is a software and hardware package designed to convert analogue video from VHS tapes and camcorders to digital formats or DVD. It lets users capture video, trim footage, correct colour, add titles and transitions, and create DVDs with menus and chapters.

  Easy VHS to DVD is proprietary software and is not available for Linux. There isn’t a direct open source replacement for the complete hardware and software package, but Linux offers excellent software for each stage of the process.

• 4 Best Free and Open Source Cheminformatics Tools

  The software is widely used in pharmaceutical research, drug discovery, computational chemistry, materials science, biotechnology and academia. Chemists use it to explore molecules and analyse properties, while researchers and data scientists use it to screen compound libraries, prepare datasets and build automated analysis pipelines.

  Free and open source cheminformatics software offers transparent and extensible tools for working with chemical data.

  Here’s our verdict captured in a legendary LinuxLinks-style ratings chart. Only free and open source software is eligible for inclusion.

• flatpak-builder - build application bundles from source manifests

  Projects can express their build in JSON or YAML rather than maintaining a collection of manual packaging commands. This makes flatpak-builder particularly useful for automated build infrastructure as well as developers who want builds to be reproducible across systems.

  This is free and open source software.

• Zonemaster-CLI - command-line DNS zone testing utility

  The utility relies on Zonemaster-Engine for the actual test framework and presents the results as tests are performed. Rather than simply confirming whether a name resolves, Zonemaster evaluates a broader set of delegation, nameserver and zone behaviours and exposes the Engine’s diagnostic results through a script-friendly interface. Results are emitted progressively, so administrators can see findings as individual test cases complete rather than waiting for a final report.

  This is free and open source software.

• rubyfmt - fast opinionated Ruby formatter

  Its formatting engine is implemented in Rust. The project deliberately concentrates on automated source formatting rather than combining formatting with a large collection of linting and static-analysis rules. This makes it suited to projects that want a dedicated formatter with predictable behaviour.

  This is free and open source software.

• CatRadio - graphical ham radio control software

  CatRadio is a graphical control application for amateur radio receivers and transceivers.

  It gathers commonly used radio controls into a desktop interface, reducing the need to navigate hardware menus or repeatedly reach for the radio’s front panel. The program uses Hamlib to communicate with supported equipment, giving it access to a large range of radios while keeping the user interface independent of individual manufacturers’ CAT protocols. It can work with equipment attached directly to the computer as well as radios exposed through Hamlib’s network facilities.

  This is free and open source software.

• Quantum ESPRESSO - electronic-structure and materials modelling suite

  Rather than being a single monolithic program, Quantum ESPRESSO combines interoperable computational packages and libraries for ground-state calculations, structural optimisation, molecular dynamics, response properties and post-processing. The suite is designed to scale from workstations to large parallel computing systems and supports workflows that move between its specialised components.

  This is free and open source software.

• DNS-collector - DNS telemetry collection and processing tool

  The program is aimed at operators who need visibility into DNS activity across anything from small installations to large infrastructures. Its pipeline model separates collection, processing, routing and output, allowing a single collector to bridge DNS servers with several destinations while keeping the data path centrally configured.

  This is free and open source software.

• Episteme Reader - privacy-focused document and e-book reader

  Episteme is particularly suited to users whose reading library spans several document formats, as the same application can handle reflowable books, fixed-layout PDFs and simpler text-based material. Its local library facilities keep reading progress and organisation close to the files themselves, while an offline desktop edition disables online services for users who prefer a completely local reading environment.

  This is free and open source software.

• OpenMD - molecular dynamics simulation engine

  OpenMD is a molecular dynamics engine for simulating liquids, proteins, nanoparticles, interfaces and other complex systems. It is particularly well suited to models containing particles with orientational degrees of freedom, including point dipoles, coarse-grained assemblies and anisotropic interaction sites.

  Simulations are described using OpenMD’s compact metadata language together with initial coordinate and velocity information. The package is aimed at computational research rather than interactive modelling, combining the simulation engine with analysis and conversion utilities for examining the trajectories and properties generated by a run.

  This is free and open source software.

• Wayland Has Won, But It Hasn't Replaced Everything X11 Did

  I use KDE Plasma on Wayland, and most of the time I forget about it. Applications open, I move between windows and I get on with my work. After years of arguments about whether Wayland was ready, that ordinary experience counts for quite a lot. I don’t need to be impressed by my display server every morning. I need it to stay out of the way.

  Ubuntu 26.04 LTS brings the change home to another large group of users. The standard GNOME desktop no longer offers an Xorg session. Ubuntu made that move with 25.10, but people upgrading from 24.04 LTS may be encountering it for the first time. Their older X11 applications can still run through XWayland, and other desktops can still offer Xorg sessions. The familiar option of choosing “Ubuntu on Xorg” at login, however, has gone.

  There are worthwhile benefits. Put a high-resolution laptop screen beside an ordinary monitor, or a 144 Hz display beside a slower one, and you want each to behave properly without hours of fiddling. Wayland gives desktops a better foundation for handling different scaling factors and refresh rates. Plasma’s work on HDR is another useful development. These are good reasons to move on. Simply telling me that X11 is old isn’t. Age alone is a poor argument for replacing software that works.

• gocondense - Condense Go Source Code

  gocondense is a command-line formatter that reduces vertical noise in Go source code. It moves eligible multi-line constructs onto fewer lines when they fit within a configurable width, while preserving comments and keeping transformations idempotent.

  The formatter combines layout changes with selected syntax simplifications. It can process files, directories, recursive directory targets, or source supplied through standard input. It is also usable as a Go library, making the same formatting behaviour available to other tools.

  This is free and open source software.

• Cheese Paper - text editor for writing long-form prose

  The software also provides dedicated areas for keeping information about characters and worldbuilding close at hand while writing. Projects remain straightforward to work with outside the application, as the underlying text is stored as Markdown with metadata held in TOML headers.

  Cheese Paper works entirely offline and automatically notices files that have been created, edited, moved, or deleted externally. This makes projects suitable for use with separate file synchronisation software while keeping the writer in control of their data.

  This is free and open source software.

• deepin Log Viewer - graphical system log viewer

  It provides a more approachable way to investigate system activity than manually opening individual log files or querying different logging facilities. The program is developed as part of the Deepin ecosystem and uses Qt together with the Deepin Tool Kit. Its interface brings different categories of diagnostic information together so that administrators and desktop users can investigate problems from a single application.

  This is free and open source software.

• sloglint - enforce consistent log/slog code style

  Structured logging APIs are flexible, but that flexibility can lead to inconsistent messages, key conventions and calling styles across a codebase. sloglint lets teams encode those preferences as static checks so logging conventions can be enforced automatically during development and continuous integration. It is particularly useful in larger services where multiple contributors might otherwise produce structurally different log records for similar events.

  This is free and open source software.