Open source

[Kenny]

Hey all,

We were discussing open source software in another thread, but I figured I'd post it here so we could all find it later if need be.

To repeat what was said in the other thread, I'll give a brief explanation of what open source means.

In commercial software, when you buy a program, you are buying the program itself and nothing more. The source code for the program is the property of the software company and is not shared.

Enter open source...

The two most well known open source programs out there are Linux and Firefox. Open source software is typically developed by a team, but the source code is fully shared and available freely to anyone. This sharing of ideas allows anyone to work on the program and contribute.

Open source benefits us users because we get to use the software at no charge. Donations are accepted, of course, but not required. All software has it's bugs and problems, and open source is no different. If you try a program and find a problem, go to the project's home page and you'll usually find a place to report bugs. This is how they improve the software.

I try out open source software all the time. I'm constantly installing this or that program and testing it out. I'll post some good open source programs in upcoming posts. If you have a need for a program, let me know and I'll see if I can find an open source version of it for you to try.

Kenny :)

[Kenny]

The first program I'll list is GIMP. It's the open source alternative to adobe photoshop. It's come a long way since it's inception...and has a long way to go to catch up to Photoshop, to be honest. Still, they are continually improving it, so who knows. I've personally used GIMP and I can attest to the fact that you CAN do restoration work on it. It's no where as intuitive as Photoshop, but it does work.

http://www.gimp.org/


The second program is what inspired me to write this. Another member was looking for a free screen capture program to record tutorials. CamStudio fits the bill nicely. I used to use a program called Snagit, which is the older version of the commercial program Camtasia. CamStudio is comparable with Snagit. If you need a program to record snapshots or video of a window or your entire screen, then CamStudio is for you.

http://www.camstudio.org/


A member emailed me about a program called MediaCoder. While I do use MediaCoder, I'll admit it's not very user friendly. I mostly use it to convert flash video to Avi's. If you need to reduce the size of a video, I recommed windows movie maker for you windows users. If you really want to try MediaCoder, here is the link to the project's homepage:

http://mediacoder.sourceforge.net/


Enough or now, I have a birthday party to get ready for :P


Kenny

[Ausimax]

I am a great fan of Open Source software, as Kenny says from the Gimp through most other software I use. The only paid for commercial programs I use are PS CS2, Partition Magic 8 and Norton's Ghost, the only real reason I bought PS was because Gimp didn't have Adjustment layers. :(

Everything else I use is either Open Source, Freeware or free to use Commercial software, and believe me I use a lot, I think I am a software Junkie! :funny: I just can't understand why people spend so much on software that you can get the equivalent or better Free!

The main drawback to Open Source software is usually the lack of documentation and help files, and the because most of what is written is done by people who also work on the source code, it usually ends up being written in Geek Speak, because these people understand the inner workings of the programs, they make assumptions about the levels of understanding of us who are IT challenged. :D No disrespect to Geeks, support your local Geek, we need them. :wnw:

That said if anyone is interested I can post a list of the programs I use that cost nothing, most you probably already know, but there may be a few you don't.

Max

[Kenny]

Max, I love trying new programs. If you or anyone have any you want to post, I'd love to try them out.

[Ausimax]

Hi Kenny,

This is some (most) of the stuff that clutters my hard drive, though I have or still do, use most of it.

Gimp - Open Source Photo Editor @  http://www.gimp.org/

Irfan View -Free media Viewer- will open and display just about any graphic or video file @ http://www.irfanview.com/main_download_engl.htm


Digital Camera Enhancer-  good for digital images if you don't want to bother with a Photo Editor @  http://www.mediachance.com/digicam/enhancer.htm


Simple OCR - good Optical Character Recognition program @  http://www.simpleocr.com/


Audacity - Open Source Audio Editor @  http://audacity.sourceforge.net/


MPeg Suite - Converts wav. files to MP3 or MP3 to wav.  @  http://ec2000.xperiment.net/


Reg Seeker - Registry Cleaner, great for the non Geek


@ http://www.hoverdesk.net/freeware.htm


Rudenko Book Reader - A reader for ebook text files @  http://www.rudenko.com/


FreeSerif - Free  older version programs


   PhotoPlus 6 - Photo Editor    --  Good starter program uses layers.


   PagePlus SE - Desktop Publishing - All you need as a home DTP


   DrawPlus 4 - Graphic Design and Vector Drawing -  Have used good program.


   3DPlus 02 - 3D Animation & Modeling - have not used.


   WebPlus 6 - Web Site Design & Publishing - Have used OK


            @      http://www.freeserifsoftware.com/default.asp


PDF995 - Only free to use PDF generator I have found that lets you combine multiple documents in one PDF file.   @  http://www.software995.com/ ( If you get, be sure to get PDF Edit as well)


PdfReader - Quick to open PDF reader without the heavy overhead of Acrobat Reader


@  http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=4510


CD Burner XP Pro3 - Alternative to Nero - It has written files that fail Nero.   


@ http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=4242


Freshdevices - Good Download Manager @  http://www.freshdevices.com/


Password Safe - I  use it to keep my User names and Passwords for Forums and Banking.


@  http://passwordsafe.sourceforge.net/


Cartes du Ciel - Planetarium program  @  http://www.stargazing.net/astropc/


Celestia - Galactic Space Modeling program.  http://www.shatters.net/celestia/download.html

Star Calc - Planetarium Program @  http://www.relex.ru/~zalex/main.htm


Stellarium - Planetarium Program @  http://stellarium.free.fr/


Virtual Moon Atlas -  @  http://astrosurf.com/avl/UK_index.html


Picture Cooler - Noise Reduction Program @ http://denoiser.shorturl.com/


AbiWord - MS Word compatible Open Source Word Processor @ http://www.abisource.com/download/ (Not as large and resource hungry program as OpenOffice)


Autostitch - Free to use Panorama Stitching Program.


@  https://www.bestvpn.com/best-free-utilities/


Anim8or - 3D Modeling Program. @   www.anim8or.com/


Exifer - Program to save and write EXIF data to Digital Images


@  www.friedemann-schmidt.com/software/exifer/


Mp4Cam2AVI - Converts MOV files to AVI  @  sourceforge.net/projects/mp4cam2avi/


I think all the addresses are still current, if not a quick Google for the name will find them.

Max

[Kenny]

Max, nice to see you're using Ifranview. I love that little program. I know Photoshop can batch convert/resize images, but Irfanview wins hands down on speed and ease of use.

As for the Regcleaner, you really need to be careful with the registry. A wrong move can be a major disaster. I personally use Ccleaner. It's free and does the job nicely. It also has other tools that I use almost daily working on computers.

[Ausimax]

Kenny, I've been a Irfan fan for many years, great program, have you discovered the "Make the Coffee" button yet? ;D

Thats why I use RegSeeker, I have been using it for years and never a problem, just tell it to clean the Registry and delete everything it finds, except the Gimp bin file one.

I work on the KISS method (Keep It Simple Stupid) and if it isn't simple, stupid can't use it! :-[

Max

[marylou]

Here are a few that I use.

Operating System:
http://www.ubuntu.com/

Font manager:
http://www.fontfrenzy.org/

Colormania 2.4 (color picker)
http://www.blacksunsoftware.com/

Vector graphics:
http://www.inkscape.org/?lang=en&css=css/base.css

Photographic mosaics:
http://www.andreaplanet.com/andreamosaic/tutorial/

Then there are a lot of Google Products too. Adobe Labs offers a lot of programs in beta to try out also.