Slashdot Mirror
How Do You Find the Right Tool for the Right Job ?
Arthur B. asks: "Whenever I try to find a software product, I find myself browsing SourceForge, but it's really hard to find something, when I only know the features I want and not the name of the project. It's hard, once I find a software, to gather information about it's reliability (is it a huge collaborative OSS project, an IT giant driven project or an end of term student project). The same is true about package trees in Linux distros. I'd like to ask the crowd: Where do you pick your software (be it commercial or not)? How do you compare different products? How do you know what a software does exactly before using it? Does a website provide this kind of help? Please let me know your tips and tricks."
I know it's unfashionable, but uk.comp.os.linux is an incredibly good place to hear the pluses and minuses of any software for any task you desire. There are some really helpful/knowledgeable people there.
Athletic Scholarships to universities make as much sense as academic scholarships to sports teams.
I've recently been tasked by my supervisor to "Find and evaluate service dispatch software" for our small company of 40. After a few Google searches I got a list of over 150 software packages. Where do you even start with something like that? Is the appearance of their website enough to make the initial cut? How can one tell whether a great product has a poor site or a poor product has a great site?
Sounds odd but I find most everything through google.
I know that sounds crazy but that's usually where I wind up anyway
Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
I usually don't go looking for software that does X, Y or Z because I usually just know. But if I have a need I often just ask people or use google. Also, I lookin Gentoo Portage using the esearch program. 99% of the Linux software you ever want to use is in there.
As for knowing if the software is good or not I run a demo, or I just install it if it's free. If I know what I want it shouldn't take more than the install time plus a few minutes to know if it's good or not. If there is no way to try the software for free, screw it. I wont even consider something I can't try before even knowing if it's what I want.
But most of the time I learn about new software isn't because I go looking for a program with certain features. It's from keeping track of things like del.icio.us pouplar. If there is a new program released that does something cool it will be there.
The GeekNights podcast is going strong. Listen!
If you knew the name of the solution to your problem, you wouldn't be searching for a solution to your problem, now would you?
"Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
Get an account on Freshmeat, so you can sort the results of a query by rating, popularity and vitality.
Stay informed and up-to-date all the time and not only if you've been delegated to a project.
Portage.
For those not in the know, that's the package repository used by Gentoo. If I know what I'm looking, I search there first. (It's based off of the *BSD port trees.) If I know the genre, I can also search there by category.
For those packages that I have no clue for, I generally search the gentoo forums at forums.gentoo.org. Even for non-gentoo linux issues, this forum is very helpful, especially for scratching an itch.
This may seem a bit like zealotry, but portage is the main reason I've abandoned all other linuxes. Almost every time I've wanted software, it's been in the portage tree. The very few exceptions have meant I looked in gentoo's bugzilla for a package that hadn't made it into the public tree yet, and the only time all of this had failed, I wrote my own ebuild and posted it to bugzilla for others to use.
Gentoo: came because I was intrigued by the flexibility, stayed because I don't like installing software, or re-installing OS's, and portage and the rolling upgrades have been fantastic.
That's one reason I wish more projects would categorize themselves in the trove software map or something similar. It typically only takes a minute or two, and it's a nice break from coding (or something to do while you wait for a compile).
For that matter, writing up a few use-cases can help clarify your thinking, and posting them can help people find your project and decide if they want to use it. The problem with screen shots (which seem to be much more common) is that they aren't searchable.
--MarkusQ
Not in any particular order:
Look up the terms on Google and see if there is an overarching concept involved.
Look for Wikipedia entries for those terms and the overarching concept. See if any of them have links to Wikipedia pages on software.
Do the same thing with sourceforge.
Do a google search for the software you find. That may lead you to pages that say how good the program is as well as other programs that do similar things.
I do this a lot.
I run a freeware review site [blatant plug] , and I basically scour delicious.org/popular and software, digg.com / software , freshmeat, FileForum Beta News and a few others. I download 'em, try em, and see what's what. It's a little easier for me because I'm limited to freeware, but these are good places to start.
Best Windows Freeware
Your web site brings up FIVE THOUSAND pounds of spam. Get a real host, or put it on your machine at home!
"Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
Download.com (http://download.com/) has improved a lot, most significantly its pledge that none of the software on its site have spyware or adware. Download.com is operated by C/NET.
Their editors' rating is fairly reliable, if not, the users' comments usually set them straight.
Sun and Fun
I go to certain IRC channels where the question wouldn't be off-topic and ask "I'm trying to do in , and I've found several different projects out there by googling. Can anyone recommend a specific application for ?"
Of course, that takes knowing the right IRC channels, and there is no way I'm posting that for the /. trolls. :)
Certain usenet groups and mailing lists are also very helpful.
Acolyte: Master, how can I be sure I have good judgement?
Wiseman: You will gain good judgment only with experience.
Acolyte: How do I obtain this experience?
Wiseman: Bad judgement.
It's far from the only tool, but at least 95% of the time it does the job for me. Debian has packaged such a massive collection of software that there's something for nearly every task. Two or three somethings, usually.
Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
Use Vivisimo instead. Then the results are broken down into categories. Can't find what you want because it's buried on page 10 amidst mountains of unrelated crap? Vivisimo to the rescue.
-I like my women like I like my tea: green-
Otherwise known as Google Groups, or formerly known as DejaNews.
If a piece of hardware or software has been released and used by more than a few people, the chances are quite good that someone has discussed that item or piece of software somewhere on USENET over the past ten years.
Mainframe/UNIX Bit Twiddler and long time Windows/Linux Hobbyist.
The Theorem Theorem: If If, Then Then.
I've recently been tasked by my supervisor to "Find and evaluate service dispatch software" for our small company of 40.
I recently went through this same search. We were looking for something that integrated a lot of our business processes. I came to one conclusion: If you want software that does exactly what you need, you have to write it yourself.
We've been using SimplyAccounting forever to do accounting, and not really tracking inventory (we have a very high number of different parts, but don't keep a huge stock on hand). Dispatching was done by filling out a form on the computer and printing it -- there was no real tracking system since the forms weren't all that searchable, and you couldn't find unfinished jobs etc.
About two years ago, we ended up purchasing a very expensive program (after looking at mid-high end accounting systems for a while) to do accounting. While trying to implement it, we found it was just too much - it forced us to alter some of our processes to work the way it wanted, and it was just overly complicated (hard to learn). On top of that, it didn't do everything we needed, and for example, I was starting plans to write the actual dispatch tracking part (with it doing invoicing and inventory). We basically abandoned that after a year, when we still hadn't made much progress in switching and they were starting to hit us up for a new support contract.
After fixing some staff problems, we started the process again in February. We ended up switching our accounting to QuickBooks, and using a product that can connect to QuickBooks called ESC by Coastal Computer. ESC can create invoices from dispatches, and post those invoices back to QuickBooks. It also has much more comprehensive inventory management and customer equipment tracking.
It still doesn't quite do everything we want (we have filters we need to service every 2 or so years, for example, and it doesn't really have good a way to 'remind' us to call the customer about that, and no way to automatically reset that date after invoicing a filter service). On the plus side it has a backend I can access (MS SQL), and in the past couple days I've written a program that looks for the service codes on an invoice and resets the service date on equipment. It doesn't require any additional interface, which is good.
We've been in this process for about 6 months though. I originally estimated a year (after my experience the first time when I figured a month or two), so we're well on track. We now do all dispatching, invoicing, and accounting stuff from QB/ESC. Most of our inventory is entered though we need to do a physical count again, and a fair amount of pricing information is missing (though getting closer every day).
So here's my advice: don't implement a solution that causes more work (ie, double-entry of data into dispatch, and then accounting) or has a steep learning curve, as people will not like to use it. Also realize that probably no software will ever meet your exact needs, just get close. Pick something that is flexible, or at least open enough so you can modify or add-on to. An open-source project would be ideal here, but AFAIK none exists.
I did consider starting an O/S project, but figured it would take at least 4 months to get something usable, and several more to work the bugs out and get a full feature set. This is not to mention the time to actually implement. It was simply cheaper to buy something than for me to spend the time on it.
Speak before you think
yeah it sounds like we're in a very similar boat. i looked at ESC, but right now i'm being told to avoid QuickBooks because we're planning on going with something bigger like Great Plains.
for every type of software I need, usually there is a Debian package :-)
It's better to be the foot on the boot than the face on the pavement. ~~ tkx Kadin2048
If I were to do it again now, I would avoid Quickbooks too :) It has some stupid problems.. like requiring accessing with single-user mode to do certain regular tasks (something to do with liabilities).. This of course means that the ESC server (QB connector) has to be stopped so QB can go into single-user mode, and then started again afterwards. It's a real pain in the ass. I've talked to QB support about it, they just say 'thats the way it is, theres no plans to change it'.
Unfortunately, there's very little in the mid-sector accounting world.. you basically get the $100-300 range programs, and then the $10k+ programs. There are a couple O/S applications starting to look promising though. Compiere, WebERP, OSSuite , and SugarCRM.
I'm actually looking at deploying SugarCRM along with our current software. It has SOAP connectors, so I should be able to link the customer database with the ESC customer database. That's a couple months off though, there are other priorities first.
Anyway, good luck!
If it is education related I take a look at the SEUL/Edu Application Index http://richtech.ca/seul/
After a few Google searches I got a list of over 150 software packages. Where do you even start with something like that?
And we wonder why God Almighty invented salesmen.
Oh ye of little faith...
I only own a hammer so I make sure every problem is a nail.
I've hit Karma 50 and gotten a Score:5, Troll... I win!
I have been using Freshmeat.net for seven or eight years. It is a great place to get open source material. It includes not only sourceforge projects, but other OSS and non-OSS projects as well. The search function seems to work well enough for me to find good solutions to my needs.
www.wavefront-av.com
MOD PARENT UP. Excellent site!
Whoops! Hit the submit button before I was fully ready.
What do you think of TugZip?
I would like a way to limit searches on your web site to Open Source software. I think it would be good if each listing on your site mentioned if the package is open source.
--
Michael Moore on Bush incompetence: Not a good writer, but I agree.
For the life of me I don't know if this comment is +1 Insightful, +1 Funny, or -1 Troll.
Such a self-serving question deserves a sarcastic response.
Like everybody here I look on slashdot, theregister and google. I ask my friend who in turn ask me on other topics. There simply is no true and absolute source for answers. And to be frank, Slashdot it's really a place to find answers. Too bad slashdot limits the size of you sig or I would have used this;
Linus Torvalds on Slashdot
"Gaah. I don't tend to bother about slashdot, because quite frankly, the whole _point_ of slashdot is to have this big public wanking session with people getting together and making their own "insightful" comment on any random topic, whether they know anything about it or not."
Sorry about the writing. Robot fingers, you know? Cliff Steele in DOOM PATROL #23
I've been looking for a clone of MS Project that runs in MacOS X for ages, and so far all I've gotten is, "you want Project? are you a pointy-haired boss? LLOLOL"
Any advice?
Comment of the year
Add Tigris.org to your list of Sourceforge alternatives for collaborative software.
Flying is easy, just throw yourself at the ground and miss. -Douglas Adams
Not dselect/synaptic. But even synaptic/aptitude can (or will?) search by debtags, which brings us exactly for the type of keyworded-search (webservers, productivity) you want.
Let's try an example. Say I want to install some electrical circuit design/simulation in my computer. So, I do "apt-cache search electrical":
atlc - Arbitrary Transmission Line Calculator
electric - electrical CAD system
ksimus - KDE tool for simulating electrical circuits
partlibrary - Electrical and processing parts and symbols for QCad 2
transcalc - microwave and RF transmission line calculator
vipec - network analyzer for electrical networks
x10 - Operate X-10 electrical power control modules.
xfig-libs - XFig image libraries and examples
In a cursory examination, I select ksimus and qcad (with partlibrary). Now, I can kynaptic/aptitude away and voilà: I have what I wanted. That's the system I have used for the last five years (four of them in MS-less desktops). If it's not in Debian, I search for it in http://apt-get.org/
Real simple.
It's better to be the foot on the boot than the face on the pavement. ~~ tkx Kadin2048
Open source software isn't just software, it's a community. If you're looking for software, ask someone else who does what you want to do what they use. If you don't know anyone who does what you want to do, then you need to find them.
Fascism trolls keeping me up every night. When I starts a preachin', he HITS ME WITH HIS REICH!
Here's what my company does: they go ask Steve Ballmer. At least it seems that way.
Don't blame me, I didn't vote for either of them!
Approximately how much is the ESC software? It looks pretty thorough.