So you just spent all your savings on a fancy new computer, but you don’t have anything left for software. Prices on commercial software can be downright scary, particularly if you need something specialized. Often times, the cost of the software exceeds the cost of the entire computer; but you need not fret! There are a broad range of free and open-source alternatives to popular commercial software, and today I’m going to list a few of my favorites.
Operating System
Ubuntu Linux
It used to be that Linux was for a niche group of techies and computer geeks, but those times have long-passed. The latest distributions of Linux include streamlined graphical user interfaces like Gnome and KDE, and are generally much more user-friendly. Ubuntu has established a solid #1 spot on the list of Linux distributions. It has an intuitive interface and some very nifty tools for maintaining updates and installing software. In terms of software availability, virtually everything you can do on Windows you can also do on Linux, and with the introduction of virtualization you can run Windows inside of Linux. Combine it’s ease-of-use with the speed, stability, and security of Linux and you have a solid candidate for a great operating system. If you’re not a PC gamer, you might find Linux to be right down your alley, and Ubuntu can make the transition quick and easy.
Image Editor
GIMP
GIMP is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program. It’s a freely distributed software package for image editing with features that rival Adobe Photoshop. It’s available for Windows, Mac, and most major Linux distributions. Being a web developer, I can appreciate the value of a good image editor, and that’s exactly what GIMP is.
Office Suite
OpenOffice
Not everyone can afford the gold standard when it comes to office productivity, and not everyone needs to! While Microsoft makes a very good office productivity suite, and would have you believe that it’s the only one you can use, there is an alternative. Originally supported by StarDivision, then Sun Microsystems as StarOffice, OpenOffice is now supported by a range of big corporations including Oracle, Novell, IBM, and Google. It supports all the major office software formats including those from Microsoft and Corel, and OpenDocument, and hundreds of different languages.
Web Browser
Firefox
Though a web browser isn’t something you have to buy, I feel that this one deserves some credit. Microsoft Internet Explorer never has been, and probably never will be standards-compliant. It’s significantly slower than most other browsers, and because of its popularity it’s frequently targeted by malware. Firefox has been around for a long time and offers standards-compliance, faster load times, better security, and a huge library full of user-supported plugins for a wide range of additional features not found anywhere else. Firefox is a force to be reckoned with in the browser war, and it has been gaining market share since its inception.
Anti-virus
avast!
Let’s face it, the Internet is a dangerous place. It’s riddled with problems ranging from malware to identity theft, and it’s probably not going to get better anytime soon. There are a lot of anti-virus software packages on the market, and some of them are free. Why pay annually to secure your PC when you can do it for free? Most anti-virus providers share information, so most of them are pretty comparable. avast!, however, is a little different than most other free packages. They include features in their free application that can normally only be found in paid packages. avast! will monitor your web surfing, email, instant messaging, and even scan your system when the screen-saver is activated to ensure you’re not using the computer when it starts.
Firewall
COMODO Internet Security
This one packs a punch. I have yet to find a free security suite as feature-packed as COMODO Internet Security. While the anti-virus module isn’t quite as powerful as avast!, the rest of the package has features that you won’t find anywhere else for free. COMODO Internet Security firewall is a complete NAT and stateful inspection solution, bundled with an anti-malware scanner and sate-of-the-art sandboxing technology that can isolate your applications from the operating system. When used properly, nothing gets passed this security suite.
Media Player
VLC
There are a ton of media players available for free, but none are as comprehensive as VLC. If your current media player doesn’t recognize a certain media format, the odds are pretty good that VLC does. VLC is a feature packed player available for a range of platforms including Windows, Linux, Mac, and even BeOS! If you’re in need of a powerful media player, I can’t think of another package that can rival VLC.
Text Editor
Notepad++
I do a lot of PHP and MySQL development, and there is only one tool I use to accomplish my goals. Microsoft Notepad is a joke; it was never designed for writing code. Adobe Dreamweaver is a pretty decent web development tool, but its PHP capabilities are nowhere near as comprehensive as Notepad++. Notepad++ includes syntax highlighting and folding for a wide range of programming languages, auto completion, a snazzy search and replace dialog, drag-and-drop functionality, tabbed file navigation, plugin support, and even macro recording! This fine piece of software is a must-have for any software developer, and it’s even handy for reading those readme files included with free software packages!
File Compression and Archiving
7-Zip
If you download files from the Internet, it’s pretty likely that you’ve encountered a compressed file at one time or another. Zip, Gzip, Tarball, RAR, 7z: They’re all used to package and compress files for easy distribution. Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of options for software that supports ALL of the formats, so often times you need several archiving programs to handle all the formats, and often you have to pay for them. Not anymore! 7-zip is an open-source archiving utility for Windows. It supports all of the major compression formats, so you can handle everything within the same application. In a lot of cases, it’s faster and offers higher compression ratios than mainstream archiving utilities.
FTP Client
Filezilla
It’s an aging technology, but it works well. FTP is often used for things like file distribution and web development. There aren’t many viable options for free FTP clients. Most of them are buggy and difficult to use. Filezilla is not one of those. It can do everything the big boys do; often faster and more efficiently. If you need an FTP client and you don’t want to fork over cash for one of the big players, Filezilla will do everything you need.
You may or may not be aware, but the Federal Communications Commission has been embroiled in legal proceedings to prevent Internet providers like Comcast from throttling network bandwidth. Today, US courts denied the citizens of the US the right to equal treatment by internet providers. While this particular legal battle surrounded the use of bit torrent technology, the scope of the court decision is far-reaching.
