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Unbeatable Open Source Applications for Windows


Microsoft Windows Applications such us Microsoft Office, Adobe products, Autodesk, and other proprietary software are all around the web. Easy access in purchasing these programs online make it possible for faster distribution and deployment of these applications. There are trial programs that has a 30-day evaluation period but worse is that some of these proprietary companies set limitations of the application functionality which hinders the user to fully get the real experience of the software. Sad to say, some of these "interested buyers" find means to have a full version for evaluation purposes from the underground. Meaning, software that are being reverse-engineered to break the codes of software limitations of some trial programs. And sometimes they lingered much in using these versions and proliferation of pirated software copies dramatically increases every year.

Anyways, this article will provide powerful and efficient applications that you can use without spending a single penny from your pocket. Today, the open-source community is getting bigger and bigger and you can find a lot of programs that you can download and it's free of charge. Open source applications are the greatest competitors of major Microsoft programs. By the way, just a trivia before we proceed, Microsoft's main stream of revenue isn't really coming from the sales of their operating system. Believe me or not, this was a revelation by a Korean Microsoft engineer from Texas whom I personally spoke when he visited Philippines way back 2005. Microsoft's main source of revenue comes from MS Office Suite. I could agree this directly because the price of MS Office is almost double the price of Windows OS. Look at the prices below:

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional - Price: $249.99
Microsoft Office Professional 2010 - 1 User-2 PC - Price: $395.69

These are quoted prices from amazon.com as of this writing.

And what's even more funny about the conversation I had was his response to Bill Gate's message about 'empowering people with Microsoft Software'. He said, 'What empowerment is he talking about? Don't believe him he is just fooling around.". He was really straight forward in giving out his opinions about Microsoft.

Alright, I am moving away from the topic. Let's get back on track!

Technical support is sometimes available if you buy your PC with pre-installed open source applications. For example, Dell partners with Red Hat, Novell / SuSE, and Ubuntu distribution. So, you can definitely get in touch with their technical support anytime you want but of course there are some limitations because in the first place they are not the actual developer of these programs. But that's already a descent support. Majority of the internet service providers (ISP) in the US supports open source browser like Mozilla Firefox.

I will be listing a couple of open source programs that I personally use and some of these aren't really alternative but instead I prefer using it rather than proprietary programs.

1. Mozilla Firefox. How long I've been using this? Frankly, since 2004! I like it's interface, tabs, add-on manager and many more. It's not the most widely used browser based on some online rankings but I prefer it over MS internet explorer (copy cat of some Firefox features). To add more, measuring browser usage can sometimes be misleading. Internet explorer is widely attacked by viruses so it thus impact the usage of IE browsers. So, I am confident that Mozilla Firefox should be ranked at the number one spot.
mozilla firefox.png

Below is the browser usage percentage around the globe as of the early 4th quarter of 2011.

  • Internet Explorer - 34.2
  • Mozilla Firefox - 23.6
  • Google Chrome - 20.6
  • Safari - 11.2
  • Opera - 5.0
  • Android - 1.9
  • Others - 3.5
Download Mozilla Firefox

2. Open Office. An open-source office productivity software suite whose main components are for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, and databases. It would be a big prejudism if I would say that this program is better than MS office but it is right to say that majority of its components are far better than Microsoft Office. How long is my usage of this program? Since 2003, a year after it's first release.

open office.png

Download Open Office

Main Components
A. Writer. A word processor similar to Microsoft Word and WordPerfect. It can export Portable Document Format (PDF) files, and can function as a basic WYSIWYG editor for creating and editing web pages(wikipedia).

B. Calc. A spreadsheet similar to Microsoft Excel and Lotus 1-2-3. Calc can export spreadsheets to the PDF format. (See ooWriter entry, above, for details of PDF). Calc provides a number of features not present in Excel, including a system which automatically defines series for graphing, based on the layout of the user’s data(wikipedia).

C. Impress. A presentation program similar to Microsoft PowerPoint and Apple Keynote. Impress can export presentations to Adobe Flash (SWF) files, allowing them to be played on any computer with a Flash player installed. It also includes the ability to create PDF files, and the ability to read Microsoft PowerPoint's .ppt format. Impress lacks ready-made presentation designs but this can be overcome by downloading free templates on-line(wikipedia).

D. Base. A database management program similar to Microsoft Access. Base allows the creation and manipulation of databases, and the building of forms and reports to provide easy access to data for end-users. As with MS Access, Base can function as a front-end to a number of different database systems, including Access databases (JET), ODBC data sources and MySQL/PostgreSQL. Base became part of the suite starting with version 2.0. Native to the OpenOffice.org suite is an adaptation of HSQL. While Base can be a front-end for any of the databases listed, there is no need to install any of them. Raw SQL code can be entered by those who prefer it, or graphical user interfaces can be used(wikipedia).

E. Draw. A vector graphics editor comparable in features to early versions of CorelDRAW and Microsoft Visio. It features versatile "connectors" between shapes, which are available in a range of line styles and facilitate building drawings such as flowcharts. It has similar features to desktop-publishing software such as Scribus and Microsoft Publisher. Draw can also export its creations to the PDF format. (See ooWriter entry, above, for details of PDF)(wikipedia).

F. Math. A tool for creating and editing mathematical formulae, similar to Microsoft Equation Editor. OOo users can embed formulae inside other OpenOffice.org documents, such as those created by Writer. It supports multiple fonts and can export to PDF(wikipedia).

3. Mozilla Thunderbird. Cross-platform e-mail and news client developed by the Mozilla Foundation. Remember most of the open source distro is cross-platform meaning you can install this on a Windows machine, MAC, Linux, etc (wikipedia). See the advantage over the proprietary program? I haven' frequently used this program, however this doesn't mean that I don't like it. I was forced to use Outlook in the office because that's the only available email client installed. My first usage of this application was way back 2006.
mozilla thunderbird.png

Download Mozilla Thunderbird

4. VLC media player. Excessively used, exploited, etc(devil laugh). It is a cross-platform media player, with versions for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, GNU, Linux, BeOS, MorphOS, BSD, Solaris, iOS, and eComStation developed and written by VideoLAN. First usage was in 2002, 2 years after its initial release.
VLC VideoLAN media player.png

Download VLC media player

5. GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program). It is primarily employed as an image retouching and editing tool and is freely available in versions tailored for most popular operating systems including Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS X, and Linux (wikipedia). So what the hell is this? If you know Adobe Photoshop, this is it's equivalent. But don't get me wrong, this application is not designed to replicate the functionality of Photoshop. Its main purpose is to provide photo editing environment to enthusiasts and beginners in the image editing world. But don't be surprised! This program has already gained acceptance in the professional photo editing industry. I've used this since 2008 but it's initial release was in 1996.
GIMP.png

Download GIMP

6. Audacity. It is a free software, cross-platform digital audio editor and recording application (wikipedia). I've used this for audio editing and recording manipulation for about 3 years now. It's initial release was in May 2000. The program is so light but it's heavily equipped with professional editing power.
audacity.png

Download Audacity

7. Bluefish html editor. A web design editor focused towards the development of dynamic websites. Bluefish supports development in (among others) HTML, XHTML, CSS, XML, PHP, C, C++, JavaScript, Java, Google Go, Vala, Ada, D, SQL, Perl, ColdFusion, JSP, Python, Ruby and shell (wikipedia). This came into existence in 1997 but I started using this editor sometime around 2004.
bluefish html editor.png

Download Bluefish editor

8. Dotclear, Wordpress, Joomla, and Drupal. I don't have to discuss this in details. I know most of you are aware of these content Management Software (CMS), again these are open source. Most of the bloggers who manage their own site run on wordpress or joomla. Sorry, I don't have numbers to back it up but this is just my own observation.

Dotclear-logo.png

Dotclear Official Site



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Wordpress Official Site



joomla-logo.png

Joomla Official Site



drupal logo.png

Drupal Official Site

9. Blender. Free and open-source 3D computer graphics software product used for creating animated films, visual effects, interactive 3D applications or video games (wikipedia). Originally this was under NaN company which went into bankruptcy in 2002. This was bought by the open source community. Yes, the code wasn't freely given by NaN to the GNU society. It costs US$100,670 (wikipedia). Well, because of great donation campaign, GNU bought it in 2002. I've been using this for about 3 years now.
blender.png

Download Blender

10. dev C++. Free integrated development environment (IDE) distributed under the GNU General Public License for programming in C and C++ (wikipedia). This is my most favorite programming environment. I've been using this since 2006. I think this program was initially released in 2000.
dev c++ logo.png

Download dev C++





Guys, these are just some of the applications that I am using in those various fields. I still have a lot of open source programs to share but those are pretty much into deeper field of research and development, academe, etc which I think doesn't have greater impact to majority of internet users. That's all for now folks! I hope you like it, if not I am telling you now, you have to! (devil laugh again).

One more trivia before I would completely vanish (LOL). Most of the coding styles, interface, features, etc of open source applications are being replicated by proprietary developers. Some of them did not violate the GNU copyleft (opposite to copyright of private companies) but most of them do.

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