Free Apps & Software: Home

This guide contains an assortment of free software (mostly open source) that you can download for free from the internet. Please note that this software is not officially endorsed nor supported by Kent State University so, as with any free software, use at your own risk. (If you encounter major issues with any software listed on this guide, please let us know at kentstatesms@gmail.com so that we can remove the software link from our list.)

Follow the left-hand navigation in order to access the software, organized by multimedia category.

Kent State offers free and discounted software for some of the more popular product suites, such as Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Suite. Visit the Tech Help software page for details.

For the full list of software that is available on the various workstations within the University Library (including the SMS), visit the Library Workstations libguide.

The easiest way to search for and install apps on your mobile device is through the designated app store that comes standard on it. For iPhones and iPads it is called the App Store. Android devices come standard with Google Play, while Windows phones use the Windows Phone Store. Alternatively, you can browse for apps through the web browser on your computer. See the links below for each app store's website.

Some of the free software that we recommend in our libguide comes from NCH Software. Users sometimes experience problems with these programs - whether it is in the installation process or in dealing thirty-party apps that come bundled with the software.

This article from MakeUseOf.com, "What’s The Problem With NCH Software & How To Remove It?", covers the details of the software issues. Use your own judgment in choosing which software to install on your own machines. Here is the list of NCH software that we have installed in the Student Multimedia Studio and share links to on our libguide.

• Debut

• Prism Video Converter

• Switch

• VideoPad Editor

Thanks to a deal worked out by Kent State's Division of Information Technology, Kent State students now have access to a heavily discounted subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud. For just $75 per year, students can download any or all of the products offered through Adobe Creative Cloud - from Photoshop to Lightroom, InDesign, Illustrator, Premiere Pro and more. For more information, visit software.kent.edu.