Open Source Software

Are you interested in Full-featured Free Software? Then take a look at Open Source Software.  Programs produced as "Open Source" are as useful as many more expensive software packages but are available online for Free! What is Open Source Software?  It is a computer program created by a group of entusiastic volunteers.  The executable program as well as the computer "code" is available for free downloading.  According to OpenSource.org, "The basic idea behind open source is very simple: When programmers can read, redistribute, and modify the source code for a piece of software, the software evolves. People improve it, people adapt it, people fix bugs. And this can happen at a speed that, if one is used to the slow pace of conventional software development, seems astonishing." To learn all about these great programs, start by reading our article on Open Source Software, presented below Then, follow the links we provide to other informative web sites where you can download some of these programs or learn more about Open Source Software.  Also, please buy and read a few of the books we recommend below.  Some contain CD-ROMs loaded with Free Open Source programs!  Related Links: Click here for The GIMP, the image creation and editing program mentioned in our article.  If you want to run the GIMP on Windows, download it from Here, along with the required GTK+ 2 package.  Visit the FAQ if you need help.   Here's the homepage for OpenOffice.org.  As mentioned in our article, OpenOffice.org is a multiplatform and multilingual office suite and an open-source project. Compatible with all other major office suites, the product is free to download, use, and distribute.  Read about it's components, which include a Word Processor, Spreadsheet, Draw program, Presentation program and a Database.   If you need a Free web page editor, see Evrsoft's 1st Page.  This popular program is Free, but not Open Source.   Wikipedia has an article that explains Open Source Software.  It also has a List of open source software packages.   Open Source Initiative (OSI) is "a non-profit corporation dedicated to managing and promoting the Open Source Definition for the good of the community... You can read about successful software products that have these properties..."      For more information on Open Source Software, we recommend the following books:

Open Source Software Substitutes by Misty Nunn   12/21/05 I believe that everyone is entitled to health care, a roof over their head, and a warm meal. While I may never see a world where everyone's needs are taken care of, I have taken pleasure out of using my "open source software." I think of it as my way of "sticking it to the man." You see, like me, there were some other folks who weren't that fond of Bill Gates and the Microsoft monopoly. All kidding aside, open source software, or software that is distributed freely rather than being bought and sold, is not a new concept. In fact, there was a period when the internet was not used commercially at all. The development of the internet was actually meant to further people's knowledge rather than expand their pocket books. As such, open source licenses were used to distribute the original code and application software for free. This meant that people could modify the program, create other software add-ons, and have a hand in debugging the program. However, open source software is not the same as "Freeware" or "Shareware." Freeware is free-to-use software similar to open source software, but it does not include the source code. Shareware is free to try out. A lot of freeware and shareware files come with additional programs and advertisements that you may not want or may be hard to get rid of. This depends on what the software is and who is providing it. One thing is certain. You don't have to understand the history of the open source software licenses to reap the benefits. Programs released under an open source license are becoming increasingly competitive. Though many of these programs are not as popular as their commercial relatives, they do offer a free alternative. For example Adobe's Photoshop can be replaced with The Gimp. Both are programs that can manipulate graphics, but The Gimp was released under the open source license. HTML editors such as Dreamweaver and Frontpage can take some of the work out of creating web pages. However, 1st Page does this for free. Everyone knows the benefits of Microsoft Office, but not as many know about the OpenOffice alternative that provides many of the same functions. Apache is becoming a widely used server as apposed to using Microsoft's Exchange server. Adobe PDF creations do not have to be made by Adobe, but can be created by using the free PDF Converter. Now, when I looked up the cost of purchasing Photoshop as a web design tool, I was amazed at the high price. There was no way I had $599 to invest in the software. Instead I searched for a Photoshop alternative and was happy to discover an open source alternative. What I found was The Gimp. The Gimp isn't perfect. You see, like many open source programs, The Gimp is not very user-friendly. I may have saved a ton of money, but I did have to invest more time in learning the software. To figure out how to give my web graphics a transparent background, I spent a good hour reading The Gimp's documentation on the web and then trying it out myself. Fortunately, I had more time than I had money. As of now, I still have a lot to learn about The Gimp, but until I can afford to purchase Adobe Photoshop I will be using The Gimp for all of my graphic projects. Yet, if you are technically challenged, you may be better off purchasing the user-friendly commercial software. Another problem with open source software is that it may contain a large number of bugs that haven't been worked out yet. One reason for this large amount of bugs is that the software developers are not being compensated. This leads to a situation where they simply do not have the time or energy to devote to the project. Without a financial relationship with the users there is no obligation to fix the software glitches. Software glitches may be a downfall for open source software, but at least you have free access to the latest version of the program. This is not the case with commercial software like Windows. Many individuals and companies have a hard time keeping up with newer versions of commercial software and end up having to buy new software or upgrades periodically. This is one area that might give open source software programs the upper hand. For instance, I have Windows XP Home Edition. I want to be able to learn and test PHP, ASP, and other server side scripts. However, to do this I will have to either upgrade to Windows XP Professional for $199 or switch to Linux, a Windows alternative. There are a lot of conflicting opinions on open source software and the future of open source software continues to change. However, I now use three different open source programs on my computer. All three have been a great help, and I find that if you devote a little time to learning the software, they can save you a lot of cash. Still, there are advantages to purchasing your software. The benefits include customer service, user-friendly interfaces, and an easier time sharing files since commercial software is used more commonly by the general public. But now that you know about open source software, at least you have a choice!

Email a Friend!     Related Articles    Next Article