An Open Source Guide For The Average PC User

prostoalex writes "The regular Yahoo! News feature Tech Tuesday this week is dedicated to open source software for the home user. Open source for all spells out the open source ideas for a regular PC user, while providing some helpful links to some popular software. The open source PC is a guide on most popular open source apps that would be common for a home user to have. Is open source for you? discusses shortcomings of open source software and cases when it's not recommended." From the article: "Never fear, counterculture types. You can still liberate the code, and experience many other perks, by becoming part of the open-source movement. With the steadily increasing number of open-source applications on the Web, there are more projects than ever to check out, covering nearly every imaginable application: from word processors and e-mail applications to media players and video games."

Comments

OpenCD

[saskboy]

http://www.theopencd.org/
Is a common link when a topic like this comes up.

I find I can make a more current and better CD than OpenCD, and I'd encourage other geeks to compile their own Open Software CDs, and recommend software to their friends. If they're looking to record sounds, use Audacity. If they want to borrow your Word CD, show them Open Office 1.9.122.

If they want to rip their CD collection, install CDex for them and show them the CDDB button, then press F9.

Re:OpenCD

[Adelbert]

This episode of LUGRadio has an interview with Henrik Nielsen Omma, who maintains the OpenCD project. Its well worth a listen, particularly when he talks about his collaboration with Ubuntu.

The articles were pretty good

[El Cubano]

The first article is a good one at which to point someone who has never heard of Open Source. My only beef is that the explanation of "What is Open Source" sounds more like a description of "What is the GPL/LGPL." Don't get me wrong, I like the GPL and release all of my work under it when possible, but there are plenty more licenses.

I also think that while OSS has some shortcomings, the way he paints them in third article is a bit bleak. Ha talks about the lack of a gentle learning curve or how they may not be as complete as their commercial conterparts. However, he completely overlooks those applications that have equalled or surpassed their commercial counterparts (like Apache, OpenOffice, Mozilla, and so on). Besides, most new users would be more likely to use OSS applications that have large active communitities (i.e., available support from other users), rather than the less well known.

Ubuntu Live CD

[RAMMS EIN]

Also worth mentioning is the Ubuntu Live CD. This CD contains a bootable no-install Ubuntu Linux image, but also contains a number of open-source Windows applications (at least Firefox, Thunderbird, OpenOffice.org IIRC).

They will also send pressed CDs to you for free.

Re:Opensource list

[Anonymous Coward]

"File sharing? NFS"

I'd say OpenSSH. You can tunnel a lot of things through it and only have one port to "guard". And with Gnome/KDE you can get GUI access to file transfers through their file mangers. Plus you can communicate with OS X and Windblows too with it (assuming Windblows has ssh installed).

Not extensive, but here's a start....

[Anonymous Coward]

Here's a few "Good" open source games. There are quite a few others out there. Sure, there may not be UberLeetHardcoreGamerOrgyOfTheMonth, but there are high quality ones out there if you look, plus Opensource ports of many classic games (not listed)

Planet Penguin Racing- http://projects.planetpenguin.de/
FlightGear- http://www.flightgear.org/
Armagetron - http://armagetron.sourceforge.net/
Vega Strike (see also the WC Privateer remake)- http://vegastrike.sourceforge.net/
Frozen Bubble-
      http://www.frozen-bubble.org/
      Live java version- http://glenn.sanson.free.fr/fb/play.html

Quake 3 - http://liberatedgames.org/game.php?game_id=90
Scorched3D - http://www.scorched3d.co.uk/
ChromiumBSU - http://www.reptilelabour.com/software/chromium/

This is just what I could think of in a few minutes- There is a really great 3d Nascar style game on the Suse 9.2 DVD, but I can't remember it's name while I'm at work.

GIMP, the Un-Photoshop

[Sundroid]

I hope people realize that you can be a Microsoft Windows users and still use most, if not all, of the open-source software mentioned here. To me, the deal-breaker, the must-have, of the open-source software is GIMP. Unless you're a professional graphic artist employed by a company that is willing to buy the $600-a-pop Photoshop for you, GIMP is a perfect alternative. The Windows version of GIMP can be downloaded from http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/stable.html. It's a small 11 megabyte download; no reason not to try it.

I've never taken one single computer graphics class in my life and I've managed to learn how to use GIMP and created dozens of graphics for my blog at http://sunandfun.blogspot.com/.

A better 1-CD solution than OpenCD

[Orrin Bloquy]

Productivity:

OpenOffice 1.1.4 | jEdit 4.2 | Nvu 1.0 | PDFCreator 0.8

Graphics:

GIMP | Inkscape | Blender | POV-Ray

Media:

VLC | Audacity | JazzWare

Internet:

Gaim | Firefox | Thunderbird | HTTrack | TightVNC | 7Zip

Survival Kit:

BurnAtOnce | Darik's Boot and Nuke

Development:

Eclipse | Dev C++ | Cygwin | Bochs

Missing best options.

[twitter]

The first article is a good one at which to point someone who has never heard of Open Source.

Tim Gnatek disappoints by not once mentioning Knoppix, Mepis or Xandros, three easy and well known ways to introduce users to free and open software. There's nothing like booting a live CD on someone's dead Winblows computer to show them that nothing is wrong with the computer besides the software. All the "hard to use" FUD melts in the 60 seconds or so it takes to boot up. In the 20 minutes it takes to install, the user wonders why anyone would ever buy $500 worth of software in several boxes and CDs through innumerable reboots and "I agrees" Live CD are also less risky than the Open CD recommended.

Re:Almost the right idea...

[westlake]

The only reason the average PC user would even consider leaving something like MS Office for OpenOffice is that it could do exactly the same thing, but cheaper or for free.

"Free-as-in-beer" is overrated.

How much does the average user spend on consumables, ink and paper, over three months, six months, a year? How much is he really paying for Office? Not retail list, surely.

Student-Teacher Office sells for about $150 with a three seat license.

Celestia

[quacking duck]

I'm *so* glad I RTFA for this one, else I'd have missed this gem: Celestia, "a real-time, 3-D space simulation".

Think Google Earth, but for the solar system/galaxy/universe. I just spent a hour playing with this, checking out the plug-ins for real and fictional spacecraft.