Open Source Alternatives to Popular Software

Before you pay another cent to Microsoft or another software publisher, read this article by Eric Geier to discover whether you can use a free open source application instead. Just about every commercial app you use on a daily basis will have an open source alternative, whether you use Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux.

Whether you are looking out for your small business or personal computing needs, the open source community delivers robust applications that are completely free. Not only can you typically use these applications on Linux, the open source operating system, but many are also available to run on Windows and Mac OS X. Using these software programs can save you loads of money. You'll soon be on your way to a free and open computing experience.

Office and Productivity Software

One of the first things you are probably wondering about is the open source alternative to Microsoft Office. No worry needed here—OpenOffice.org (OOo) has been around for many years as a feasible substitution for just about any operating system. It includes Writer for word processing, Calc for spreadsheets, Impress for presentations, Draw for illustrating, and Base for databases.

OOo is pretty much a copy of MS Office 2003, with a few exceptions. Though separately available, OOo doesn't include an email client or other misc office-type applications that you might see from one of Microsoft's premium office suites. Plus some features are lacking, such as templates, clip art, and grammar checking. However with some searching on Google or browsing through my writings, you'll find some workarounds.

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Microsoft 'Not Against' Open Source

The division between proprietary software vendors and open-source providers is not as clear as some industry players perceive it to be. As more enterprises consider adopting open source technologies, even traditional software vendors such as Microsoft have taken steps in responding to such customer needs.

"Open source is not a product but an approach to software development," said Matthew Hardman, platform strategy manager at Microsoft Singapore. "Microsoft does not compete with open source, just as Nike does not compete with running."

Hardman said the software giant seeks to provide the 'best possible platform' for open source applications to run. "We believe that enterprises and vendors should have a choice of software development methodology, and open source is one such choice."

The platform strategy manager noted however, that Microsoft will compete with open source-based providers, just as it also competes with other proprietary vendors.

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Sun execs to RP developers: focus on open source

MANILA, Philippines -- Filipino software developers should focus on open source in order to take advantage of existing market trends, a top executive of Sun Microsystems said.

Reggie Hutcherson, head of Sun's technology evangelism group, said today's generation of developers is challenged to learn multiple programming languages.

"Before, developers need only to master a few programming languages such as C++," Hutcherson said in an interview with INQUIRER.net. He visited Manila recently to speak at the Youth for IT Congress in UP Diliman.

He added: "Today developers are being challenged to learn multiple languages. You need to know a scripting language. You probably need to know a database infrastructure and integration and networking technology as well."

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Using Open Source in your Business: Myths and Clarifications

ActiveState has released a short white paper entitled “10 Myths About Running Open Source Software in Your Business”. Authors advocate against black-and-white approach to open source that is often adopted by both its zealots and its opponents. They believe that using open source software may foster business development projects but pros and cons need to be weighted carefully and proper safety nets should be put in place to reduce potential risks and to optimize advantages. This white paper can be viewed as a good basis for such a rational approach to OSS, because it refutes a number of common misconceptions about its quality, its usage and its place in today’s industry:

Myth 1: You Have to Choose Between Open Source Software and Proprietary Software
Myth 2: Open Source Software is Free!
Myth 3: Implementing Open Source Software is Only About Saving Money
Myth 4: If You Choose Open Source Software, You Are On Your Own
Myth 5: Licensing is Always a Nightmare
Myth 6: Open Source Software Equals Open Standards
Myth 7: It Is For Non-Conformists
Myth 8: Open Source Software Is Not a Good Choice for Mission-Criti­cal Functions
Myth 9: Open Source Software is Lower Quality
Myth 10: Your Business is Not Using Open Source Software

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Software piracy hurts the open-source community too

July 23, 2008 (Computerworld) PORTLAND, Ore. -- Proprietary software vendors, movie companies and the music industry aren't the only businesses that don't like pirates stealing, copying and reselling their CDs and DVDs.

It turns out that pirated software can also hurt the open-source community. When stolen proprietary software is used by consumers, that's a lost opportunity for open source software makers to get their own software onto the computer hard drives of new users.

So says Louis Suarez-Potts, the community manager at Sun Microsystems Inc. for the OpenOffice.org open source project, who discussed the phenomenon here at the 10th annual O'Reilly Open Source Convention.

"Piracy hurts open source because open source asks people to help give back and contribute code, but they say 'why should I help? I have Microsoft Office for free,'" Suarez-Potts said.

Around the world, he said, many national governments are realizing that this hurts them, too, because their citizens are then consumers of stolen technology rather than active participants in open-source communities that can help people gain technology skills that benefit workforces and nations.

By cracking down on software piracy, nations around the globe are starting to see that they can help themselves dramatically by encouraging innovation and creativity -- as well as job growth and richer economies -- through open source development, he said.

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Open Source: Commonplace or Confusing?

The latest offering from Research and Markets indicates that open source has quickly become commonplace in the business of software, such that most vendors consider it “just another piece of business.” From the Saugatuck Technologies abstract:

Within the past 12 to 18 months, many software vendors have moved from fear to aggression, pursuing open source development firm acquisitions, incorporating open source code into offerings throughout their portfolios, and looking for (or planning) open source offerings.

At the same time, researchers note, there is also evidence that some vendors may not understand all the implications of open source licensing and development. They report that they are on top of “the open source thing,” but they are hard pressed to show how they’ve worked open source into business strategies or detail the resources that management has committed to open source initiatives.

Nonetheless, writers say the results are far from their findings just a year ago, which indicated that many “were struggling” with what the increasing demand for open source meant for their businesses.

Source : http://www.itbusinessedge.com/

Moodle - the open source software that's getting serious

The exhibition, which opens on Tuesday and runs until Thursday, is organised by the Chartered Institute For Personal Development and will be attended by thousands of HR managers, training outfits and others keen to learn about the latest learning and development techniques.

HowToMoodle based in the Midlands, at Wolverhampton University's Telford campus. The company has quickly become the leader in showing others how to take advantage of the Moodle system.

"This is serious software for serious learning," said founder and MD Ray Lawrence. "It is now embraced by industry, local authorities, universities, colleges, and charities and is accepted as the future for on-line learning courses."

HowToMoodle will be the sole voice of Moodle at the exhibition, and Ray says he's expecting a lot of interest. "Many people have heard about Moodle, and have dabbled a little or had some ad-hoc training; but they still don't understand how powerful it is.", continued Ray. "We show people how to get the most out of it;

how to initiate their own coursework and learning programmes".

The company is growing rapidly, with customers scattered all over the UK and beyond, with a busy web site - www.howtomoodle.com and a growing army of enthusiastic organisations.

HRD 2008 is at the ExCel, London Tuesday-Thursday. Info from the exhibition web site, at:
www.cipd.co.uk

Source : http://www.onrec.com/

Open source vendors focus on SOA coders

Open source vendors MuleSource Inc. and WSO2 Inc. are focusing on making life easier for coders working on service-oriented architecture (SOA) projects.

The companies announced new products this week aimed at the SOA developer community. MuleSource is releasing Mule 2.0 Community Edition, its new Eclipse-based IDE and providing a RESTpack to help coders transition to using Representational State Transfer (REST). WSO2 is releasing a version of its Web Services Framework to support development working with the popular Spring framework.

There is a common thread in these announcements, which is that open source vendors are focused on making it easier for developers to use frameworks for coding SOA, said Bradley F. Shimmin, principal analyst of application infrastructure at Current Analysis LLC.

"The open source vendors are much more sensitive to the developer community than you see from the larger closed-source platform vendors," Shimmin said. "Although those platform vendors are great on tools, it's really the smaller companies like MuleSource, WSO2, Red Hat and Iona, as well as Sun that are keenly aware of just how much work goes into building an application."

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Kenya: Open Sourcing Can Tackle Software Piracy

Adoption of Open Source Software (OSS) as an alternative to copyrighted products is seen as a promising solution to software piracy in developing countries like Kenya. BPO services in at initial stage at Kenyan industry.

Globally, software piracy is blamed for the high cost of commercial software. At several thousand shillings, the price of familiar operating system and Office software is too high for normal users and institutions in Kenya where estimates show that 80 per cent of the commercial software used is pirated.

Unlike commercial software, which has to be purchased and registered, open source software can be down loaded and used free of charge. The only exception is when it has to be customised in which case a fee is paid.

Open source software is developed largely by community brains rather than global IT firms and has risen to rival commercial software as governments like South Africa pass regulations requiring departments to increase use of open source solutions.

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