Free Software article discussion

espresso

womble65 wrote: »

Thats right, the info comes in pdf format from abroad so not by choice.

So make use of copy & paste then.

happysnidge

just downloaded FREEMIND that superscaper recommended - brill, many thanks.

Any recommendations for tea break games e.g. solitaire, simple strategy, etc. for the times you are desk bound but need a bit of light mental relief?

happysnidge

other than trackmania which was also a great recommendation

sra

happysnidge wrote: »

just downloaded FREEMIND that superscaper recommended - brill, many thanks.

Another mind mapping app is Cayra.
It's been on my PC for ages but haven't had a chance to look at it yet so I don't know if it's better than Freemind yet.

hubris

Good, informative article.

Under 'Open source software' the author writes "the problem's that support is often limited as there are no big bucks backing it up". The author could have also stated that "however, as Free and Open Source software has a massive community following manifesting itself on the Internet, any request for support or information should include a search on an Internet search engine, as there are often people who may have the same questions/issues as you."

Under 'Open Office', there is no mention of the fact that its default file format is the OpenDocument format, (odf), which is an international standard, and means you can faithfully open your documents in other applications, e.g. Abiword, Staroffice, Lotus Symphony etc - you are not locked into one vendor, like with Microsoft Office. The author mentions 'OpenOffice file'. It is not an 'OpenOffice file', but an OpenDocument file. The dominance of Microsoft's file format is the main reason organisations find it difficult to migrate to a different software provider. As a taxpayer, I'm interested in Schools, hospitals, government bodies etc. freeing themselves from the lock-in to expensive, proprietary software. Bristol City council saved over one million pounds by moving to OpenDocumentFormat (http://osor.eu/news/uk-major-cost-reduction-result-of-bristols-switch).

The author rightfully cites Inkscape, GIMP, VLC media player but fails to point out that they are Free, Open Source applications. Free and Open source software, and the concept of making your source code available is still a new concept for people, especially non technical people. The more people become aware of the success and viability of Free and Open Source software, the greater its acceptance will be (again, in schools, hospitals, government bodies etc.).

GNU/Linux does not need antivirus software. Users of GNU/Linux, e.g. ubuntu need only to keep their systems up-to-date. http://www.linux.com/feature/60208

Applications worthy of note (for Microsoft Windows computers):
PDFCreator - save any printable file to PDF. This is Free and Open Source.
Sumatra PDF reader. Lighter and faster than Adobe reader. This is Free and Open Source.
Also look at the portable apps suite (http://portableapps.com), which is a repository of Free and Open Source software that can run off a portable device, such as your USB key.

raylec

cshutchison wrote: »

Rather than list individual software packages, I'm posting links to a few software repositories, representing thousands of free (mostly open source) packages.

I have been a fan of free software for years :beer: ..... but there is a cost - the possibly huge amount of time spent downloading, installing, evaluating and quite possibly deleting some not very good software. So I really like personal favourites/recommendations etc, which help me filter out the good from the bad and save me hours of wasted time.

So here goes:

Firstly, two favourites already mentioned, but deserve mentioning again:

1. Freemind for organising almost anything. It's a mind mapping program which I like more than the very expensive Mindmanager because it's so fast.
http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

2. MediaMonkey
I've used it for a couple of years. Recently my daughters have had problems with iTunes (both have had their playlists suddenly disappear). Replace with mediamonkkey; scans for all their music files and organsies it all for them. Great!
http://www.mediamonkey.com/download/


A personal favourite. If you want an easy to use image editor but still with plenty of features: Photofiltre. It's just a great time saver with almost no learning curve.
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/photofiltre.html


Finally a plug for my favourite source of free software - Snapfiles. It's good because there are so many reviews by users - you just know when you've found a gem - even before you download!
http://www.snapfiles.com/freeware/


Enjoy!

membargo

Be worth doing something on free software that goes on a USB - type memory stick - drive. Lots of very helpful packages including Firefox.

My current favourite is BestSync - very good for doing what it says. JRScreen Ruler is very helpful from time to time.

superscaper

hubris wrote: »

Bristol City council saved over one million pounds by moving to OpenDocumentFormat (http://osor.eu/news/uk-major-cost-reduction-result-of-bristols-switch).

I've seen this claim before and it's simply untrue and at best misleading. They saved millions by changing to a cheaper licensed office suite. Nothing to do with changing document format (read the link again and try and pick out where they said they saved money, i.e. because of the licensing of the Office suites which is NOT synonymous with going for the open standard file formats). They (for all we know) may still be using .doc etc, they certainly are able to. That doesn't make the slightest difference to whether they buy new MS Office licenses or install Open Office (or Star Office in their case). Conversely they could be using OpenDocument formats but using commercial MS software, I for one can open edit and save .odf file formats but I use MS Office 2007 Ultimate (not exactly cheap at retail price). The claim that you're locked in with MS Office formats is plainly ridiculous by the very mention of Open Office (which as has been mentioned is compatible with these supposed closed proprietary formats) in the same sentence.

Brisbaneroad

For users of Windows versions before Vista, Startup Control Panel is a useful applet that lets you see and restrict which programs are started when your PC boots up. Lots of software will run update managers and background services that are completely unneccessary when you start your machine, this lets you simply uncheck them so that they are gone next time you boot. And if you find that something doesn't work afterwards, just check the box again and it's back. Download from the homepage of the creator, Mike Lin:
http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml

boybeck

I'm a big convert to Google Docs.

I have only just discovered this and it's brilliant.

I now have my diary on Google Calendar as well as xcel documents online at Google Docs. It's really handy to be able to access my documents at home or at work.

If I bought a new computer, I wouldn't bother with Word and Xcel now. I am living my life "in the cloud" as they say.