Open Source Tools when you switch to Linux

[Leoniee]

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Here is list of some of the best open source alternative you can go for when you are going to switch to new open source operating system. If you are planing to switch to linux or any other open source distro then this are the best options you can go for at the start. The tools are free and best alternative for the commercial product. They provide all the functionality and support. The only difference is the user interface and that makes you a bit slow. But later on you can gain speed on the same.

Office Application

OpenOffice in place of Microsoft Office :

If the price of Office you feel that Microsoft is seeing the face, because no change? If you compare with other Microsoft suite of products, then you are looking for something that includes an email client, word processor, spreadsheet, tools, and an application for multimedia presentations. The only product that provides a competitive edge against Microsoft is Google (which includes Gmail, Google Docs, Google Presentation and more). However, some argue that Google is not truly open source. Therefore, the next best alternative would be OpenOffice, an open source project that includes everything found in Microsoft Office, except the email client.

Database Support

Kexi in place of Microsoft Access: Microsoft Access is a versatile tool for creating databases and office applications. Accesss contains a database engine built in, also connects to other databases of ODBC. On the other hand, Kexi allows users to design ways to create and access data, as well as access.Kexi is open source, whereas Access belongs to Microsoft.

OpenOffice Writer in place of Microsoft Word : If you break this suite of office and start to replace the suite item by item, then you can start with this product. Writer is the word processing component of OpenOffice.org, which is similar to Microsoft Word, and with an equivalent range of features.

OpenOffice Calc in place of Microsoft Excel : Another Microsoft product, Excel still carries its productivity advantage as a spreadsheet, but no longer carries an air of absolute necessity. Google Docs can provide the application online, sharing spreadsheets. As a true open source product that can replace Excel, try OpenOffice.org Calc This tool provides the full functionality of a spreadsheet. Includes a large number of statistical and scientific functions, tables and graphs.

CMS and Publishing Tool

Moodle in place of Blackboard : Blackboard has been the CMS (Course Management System) industry standard for educational purposes for many years. This program allows instructors to create courses, manage student work, and more. However, Moodle has gained significant ground as an open source alternative to Blackboard, as it helps educators create effective online learning communities in a scalable package that costs nothing to use.

Workbench in place of Microsoft Project : Microsoft allows users to control project work, schedule, and finances and effectively communicate project data to other users. However, costs do with Microsoft. Instead, use open source software Open Workbench to perform exactly the same details of the project. Users need to move beyond desktop scheduling to a workgroup, division or enterprise-wide solution.

PDFCreator in place of Adobe Acrobat : There is a free trial to create a PDF from Adobe. However, PDFCreator easily creates PDFs from any Windows program.

[Leoniee]

Image Management Softwares

Gimp in place of Adobe PhotoShop : Even if you are paying for upgrades instead of the original package, the price of Adobe Photoshop can be prohibitive for some photographers and graphic designers. Try the GIMP to see if open source can not provide all the power you need for your photography needs and graphic design. GIMP GNU Image Manipulation Program means, and is the solution that comes closest to emulating the Photoshop environment.

Archimedes in place of AutoCAD : AutoCAD is an automated tool used by any designer who creates design projects - mostly architects. Archimedes is an open source computer aided design (CAD), an alternative that focuses primarily on the architectural design. AutoCAD definitely wins the best score so far.

Microsoft PowerPoint in place of OpenOffice : You can forget about this tool from Microsoft with the use of the Presentation of Google or the OpenOffice Impress. Both tools represent all the functions for the submission of applications that allow users to create and modify diagrams and photographs within the application.

Microsoft Paint in place of Tux Paint : While not a serious graphics program, is widely used by many computer users, mostly children, who play with Tux Paint instead of Paint. This open source product is designed very different from typical graphics editing software (like Photoshop or GIMP), in the sense that it was designed to be used by children as young as 16 months. The user interface is designed to be intuitive, and utilizes icons, sound and text prompts to help explain how the software works.

Chatting & Internet Tools

Pidgin in Place of AOL and other messengers : AOL Instant Messenger is no longer the instant messaging tools preferred. The open source alternative is Pidgin, a multi-client instant messaging protocol that lets you use all your IM accounts at once. No matter if you use Windows, Linux, BSD and other Unix systems, you can talk with your friends using AIM, ICQ, Jabber / XMPP, MSN Messenger, Yahoo, Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, IRC, Novell GroupWise Messenger, QQ, Lotus Sametime , SILC, SIMPLE, MySpaceIM, and Zephyr.

RSS Bandi in place of FeedDemon : FeedDemon for Windows is constantly looking to Travian of search engines generated feeds for keywords, as well as generalized searches. Tambi allows offline reading and downloading subscriptions. Tambi NewsGator synchronizes with FeedDemon so you can have access to news without your computer. Except for the fact that FeedDemon is not open source, is a strong reader.

aMSN in place of Microsoft MSN Messenger vs aMSN : Microsoft offers MSN Messenger to the masses as freeware on Windows, and has grown from a simple instant messaging application to a trend in a very competitive market. Features include voice and video chat, games, remote support and also allows connection to users.

Antivirus

Winpooch in place of Kaspersky Anti-Virus : Kaspersky Anti-Virus is probably one of the leading anti-virus products on the market for Windows, mainly because it is well known for their detection rates. It commits to multiple tasks, and that protects against viruses, script viruses, files like zip files and removes viruses from email.

Norton Personal Firewall : Norton Personal Firewall for Windows monitors and controls the entire Internet traffic and will reject any attack or intrusion attempt. The pop-ups and permits are part of the game, since it seems that every new website has its own set of warnings Norton.Como an alternative WIPFW a firewall (firewall) for Windows based on ipfw for FreeBSD UNIX .