Ask HN: What are some software projects towards which you’re very grateful

Libreoffice

I really like being able to write a letter or work on a spreadsheet in a commonly interchangeable format on various outdated PCs.

I don't have to wonder how many PCs I can install a boxed copy of 'home and student' on, I don't have to use a trial version that expires, I don't mess with cracks that might be malware. I really really don't want to pay a subscription.

I don't want my stuff in someone else's cloud. I don't want any nagging. I don't want the save-as button to start defaulting to "save to oneDrive" when an update gets installed.

I accept that some people think that Libreoffice is inferior to Microsoft Office and they may be correct for their use case. I mostly just want to make lists and add up numbers in a spreadsheet.

I have the portableapps version on a USB stick.

I sometimes want to shove a small old laptop worth $40 and some clothes into a rucksack and go somewhere for three days.

MacOS after Apple released the API to its internal routines. It was unprecedented, hugely empowering, and changed the world of application programming. We programmers had nothing like that. We had to build everything from the ground up. With it one programmer could create an app that would have taken a team a year or more. It changed my life.