Save Your Money!!! Open Source Software Vs. Proprietary Wallet Busters
72
Little Boy -- I Have Some Candy For You In This Van
No matter how much time I spend on the computer, I continue to be surprised and amazed at the wealth of information I still discover. Whether it be on the Internet or just spelunking through the caverns of my hard drive, I frequently discover more and more uses and applications. Due to this, my list of potential hobbies to enhance my boring life is growing to titanic proportions.
Unfortunately, some useful software I discover on my computer are only trial versions. These versions have a limited amount of uses before you have to buy, or it has less features that the full version contains. These teasers reel you in and by the time you figure out you actually have to buy the software, you're hooked. Then you see the price! Ugh! After you recover from this virtual kick to the nuts, you raise your hands up to the sky and scream, "Why Lord — why?!?! Why must I be tempted so?!?!"
Stay your index finger — do not click on that PayPal button yet!
There is a beacon of light behind the hulking shadow of expensive proprietary software. Come this way my friend; I will guide you. Soon you will see the light — I promise.
Open Source Software
"Open source is a development method for software that harnesses the power of distributed peer review and transparency of process. The promise of open source is better quality, higher reliability, more flexibility, lower cost, and an end to predatory vendor lock-in." -- Open Source Initiative
There is an open source equivalent for virtually every major proprietary software program out there and some are just as good, if not better. This hub lists just a few of the major ones.
Open Office
Equivalent: Microsoft Office
Compatibility: Cross-platform
Cost: Free, compare to $322.99 for Microsoft Office Standard 2007
Details: the following list contains programs in Open Office and their MS Office equivalents.
- Write = MS Word
- Calc = MS Excel
- Impress = MS PowerPoint
- Base = MS Access
- Draw = MS Visio
- Math = MS Equation Editor
GIMP
Equivalent: Adobe Photoshop CS4
Compatibility: Cross-platform
Cost: Free, compare to $639.49 Adobe Photoshop CS4
Details: customizable interface, photo enhancement, digital retouching and cloning, hardware support
Nvu
Equivalent: Adobe Dreamweaver CS4
Compatibility: Cross-platform
Cost: Free, compare to $359.99 for Dreamweaver CS4
Details: WYSIWYG HTML editor for website authoring.
Scribus
Equivalent: Microsoft Publisher
Compatibility: Cross-platform
Cost: Free, compare to $148.99 for MS Publisher 2007
Details: create brochures, flyers, newsletters, etc
Thunderbird
Equivalent: Microsoft Outlook
Compatibility: Cross-platform
Cost: Free, compare to $87.99 MS Outlook 2007
Details: an e-mail and news client, download Lightning to integrate Mozilla's Sunbird calendar with Thunderbird
Avast! Home Edition
Equivalent: general anti-virus software
Compatibility: Cross-platform
Cost: Free, compare to general anti-virus software
Details: this is actually freeware not open source. Home edition is free for personal use on home computers.
|
The Essential Guide to Open Source Flash Development
Price: $21.98
List Price: $46.99 |
|
Intellectual Property and Open Source: A Practical Guide to Protecting Code
Price: $24.00
List Price: $34.99 |
|
Penetration Tester's Open Source Toolkit, Vol. 2
Price: $28.17
List Price: $59.95 |
|
The Open Source Alternative: Understanding Risks and Leveraging Opportunities
Price: $25.43
List Price: $45.00 |
Open Source and Free Software Links
- Find Open Source Alternatives to commercial software | Open Source Alternative - osalt.com
osalt.com helps recommend a open source software alternative or replacement for commercial products and even shareware. Remember that open source software is also a freeware alternative. - SourceForge.net: Open Source Software
SourceForge.net. Fast, secure and free downloads from the largest Open Source applications and software directory. - Open Source Freeware
Open Source Freeware : 400+ free applications and utilities : eConsultant - Welcome! - Free Software Directory - Free Software Foundation
Save Your Money!!! Open Source Software Vs. Proprietary Wallet Busters in the News
- Open Source as a Model for Business Is ElusiveNew York Times4 hours ago
European Commission reaction to Oracle’s acquisition of Sun Microsystems has stoked a tricky debate: can open-source software live up to its populist traditions?
- Cut Storage Costs With Open Source SoftwareEnterprise IT Planet4 days ago
Two new storage products are using open source software and commodity hardware to help enterprises pare down storage costs.
- NSW ponders open source, SaaSZDNet Australia4 days ago
The NSW Government is evaluating the benefits of software as a service and open source software in a bid to rationalise and reduce the costs of its software procurement, according to a Request for Information document released today.
PrintShare it! — Rate it: up down flag this hub
Comments
You're welcome Cris. Glad to help.
Open Office kicks ass...I've been meaning to try GIMP forever.
Great list of wonderful resources! :) How does Avast compare with AVG?
Suzanne: I like Avast. It has a boot-time scan option that could be helpful if you are having major issues.
Hmmm...Well, my main issue is just that my poor old computer runs so slowly that it already takes 3 hours to boot up completely! I have to plan my day around it! I don't think I'll add any thing else to that! AVG runs once a day while I am sleeping (you know, around noon) and seems to keep my computer safe. Every once in a while it will decide to go crazy and run an unscheduled scan right while I am trying to do something important. This can blow a whole day's work! I hope to get more memory soon. Maybe that will speed things up a bit.
Unless you have some ancient pc, you have a problem that can be fixed. Check startup programs on your computer by going to Run and type "msconfig". Click on the "startup" tab. Then go to this website:
http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php
Type in the name of the programs that are listed as startup programs and see what the site says about them. Unclick box if they say it is not needed.
Also, download this free program:
http://www.download.com/Advanced-SystemCare-Free/3
This program is awesome and I use it a lot!
Thanks! The Advanced System Care seems to be working great! Maybe I'll try Open Office next! :D
I really like Open Office and AVG - great programmes.
Glad to help Suzanne.
Great hub. I also like OxygenOffice which adds a bunch of templates and free plug-ins to Open Office. Also free. I know this is targeted more to home users, but I use a lot of Open Source enterprise apps--mainly SugarCRM and Nagios--in my work as a consultant.
Thank you for the suggestions Dreadpal.
What a very useful and well-done hub you have produced. I use many of those open source program systems here, and I like them a whole lot. I will mention something about the OpenOffice series you described that I learned because I needed some help. I understand that OO is supposed to emulate Microsoft Office series, and it does. Someone sent me a file they had composed using Corel's "Word Perfect." I had a copy of that Corel software, but it did not function at all with my current operating system. I opened the file in OO, and it worked perfectly. That was something! I am also a Linux fan and use it in one of my computers. So, if you don't mind, I am going to bookmark your hub. Good going, friend of Hubbers!
Gus
Thanks Gus. I love Linux too. I have a dual boot with Kubuntu and Vista.
Cris A says:
9 months ago
hey dork
this is great! I'm a sucker for freeware - although keygens are always an option (but not as totally guiltless as freeware). Thanks for doing the hardwork for me. You rock!!!!